Solomon Tebeje
Solomon Tebeje
School of Commerce
By
June 2022
School of Commerce
By
June 2022
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Addis Ababa University
School of Commerce
This is to certify that this project work is prepared by Solomon Tebeje Gizaw entitled: “The
Role of Team Management on the Success of Project Management: The Case of Plan
International Ethiopia” and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Masters of Arts in Project Management complies with the regulations of the
University and meets the accepted standards concerning originality and quality.
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STATEMENT OF DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the Project Work entitled ‘The Role of Team Management on the Success
of Project Management: The Case of Plan International Ethiopia’ is submitted to the School
of Commerce, Graduate Studies Program, of Addis Ababa University, for the partial
fulfilment of MA in Project Management, is the original work of mine. It has never been
submitted earlier to AAU or any other institutions. I also declare that no chapter of this paper,
in whole or part, is lifted to incorporate in any report.
Signature ____________
Email: mersol9@gmail.com
Tel.: +251911731148
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STATEMENT OF CERTIFICATION
I certify Project Work entitled “The Role of Team Management on the Success of Project
Management: The Case of Plan International Ethiopia” is Solomon Tebeje Gizaw’s original
work and meets the requirements of Project Work for the Partial Fulfilment to award MA in
Project Management.
Also, I recommend this paper be placed before the examiner for valuation.
Advisor
Signature: __________________
Tel.: +251913731005
Email: bahren.asrat@aau.edu.et
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Acknowledgement
I am highly indebted to Dr Bahran Asrat for his guidance, excellent communication, and his
precious time to build the current project work.
My appreciation goes to Drs. Wubshet Bekalu and Solomon Markos for their encouragement
and staff of the School of Commerce, for their relentless effort to realize the course works
and the opportunity to work on this particular project work.
I thank Indiana University (IU) Libraries, Bloomington, the USA, for accessing published
resources and software.
Zebna Alemu, Giyorgis Solomon (Hachi), Selamawit Deribe, and Dirbe Nugie at sweet home
are my energy. Thank you very much!
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Abbreviations
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgement ................................................................................................................... v
Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................... vi
Table of Contents ................................................................................................................... vii
List of tables ........................................................................................................................... ix
List of figures ........................................................................................................................... x
Abstract ................................................................................................................................... xi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1
1. 1. Chapter introduction ................................................................................................. 1
1. 2. Background of the study ........................................................................................... 1
1. 3. Background of the organization ................................................................................ 2
1. 4. Statement of the problem .......................................................................................... 4
1. 5. Research questions .................................................................................................... 6
1. 6. Objectives of the study .............................................................................................. 6
1. 7. Significance of the study ........................................................................................... 7
1. 8. Scope of the study ..................................................................................................... 8
1. 9. Potential limitations of the study .............................................................................. 8
1. 10. Organization of the study ...................................................................................... 8
1. 11. Operational definition.......................................................................................... 10
Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................... 12
2. 1. Chapter introduction ............................................................................................... 12
2. 2. The role of team management ................................................................................. 12
2. 2. 1. Team composition ........................................................................................... 13
2. 2. 2. Project manager leadership role....................................................................... 19
2. 2. 3. Project manager leadership style ..................................................................... 21
2. 2. 4. Project managers’ communication .................................................................. 22
2. 2. 5. Project managers’ motivation .......................................................................... 23
2. 2. 6. Project Manager knowledge and learning ....................................................... 24
2. 2. 7. Team conflict management.............................................................................. 25
2. 3. The Success of project management ....................................................................... 26
2. 3. 1. Project team effectiveness ............................................................................... 28
2. 3. 2. Project team performance ................................................................................ 28
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2. 3. 3. Other Factors for the Success of Project Management .................................... 29
2. 4. Conceptual framework of the study ........................................................................ 31
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................... 33
3. 1. Chapter introduction ............................................................................................... 33
3. 2. Research design....................................................................................................... 33
3. 3. Study variables ........................................................................................................ 34
3. 4. Study area and population ....................................................................................... 34
3. 5. Sampling technique/method .................................................................................... 35
3. 6. Sample size ............................................................................................................. 36
3. 7. Data collection ........................................................................................................ 37
3. 8. Data analysis – model, technique, and software ..................................................... 39
3. 9. Reliability and validity analysis .............................................................................. 40
3. 10. Ethical Consideration .......................................................................................... 43
CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION ........................................... 44
4. 1. Chapter introduction ............................................................................................... 44
4. 2. Demographic information of the respondents ......................................................... 44
4. 3. Descriptive statistics ............................................................................................... 51
4. 4. Correlation analysis................................................................................................. 52
4. 5. Regression Analysis ................................................................................................ 59
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, & RECOMMENDATIONS ......................... 70
5. 1. Chapter introduction ............................................................................................... 70
5. 2. Summary of findings ............................................................................................... 70
5. 3. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 72
5. 4. Recommendation .................................................................................................... 73
REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................... 75
ANNEXE ............................................................................................................................... 80
Annexe I: Information Sheet .............................................................................................. 80
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List of tables
Table 4: Frequency of the project manager leadership role and style, communication,
motivation, and conflict management of the project teams at PIE
Table 5: The Likert Scale measurement of the Critical Success Factors for the success of
project management.
Table 6: The correlation between the role of team management and the managerial ability
group (MAG) for the success of project management
Table 7: The correlation between the role of team management and the critical success factor
group (CSFG) for the success of project management
Table 8: The correlation between the role of team management and the monitor and control
group (MCG) for the success of project management
Table 9: The correlation between the role of team management and the lessons learned group
(MCG) for the success of project management
Table 11: Skewness and Kurtosis of the critical factors for SPM
Table 13: Regression analysis of the critical success factor group (CSFG)
Table 14: Regression analysis of the monitoring and control group (MCG)
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List of figures
Figure 1: Plan International Ethiopia (PIE) organogram on the current study focusing on 18
disclosed projects.
Figure 4: The Likert Scale measurement of the Critical Success Factors for the success of
project management.
Figure 6: The Q-Q plot compared the qunatiles of the data distribution with the quantiles of
a standardized theoretical distribution from a specified family of distribution.
Figure 7: The histogram of the critical success factors for the success of project management
based on the Q-Q-plot.
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Abstract
The role of team management has a greater impact on the success of project management to
achieve project goals beyond the stakeholders’ expectations. Even though it has been given
attention in the project organizations, it still requires deepening studies in the field. Therefore,
we designed explanatory research to work on the role of team management on the success of
project management taking the case of Plan International Ethiopia. After informed consent
was obtained from the respondents, Microsoft Form-based questionnaire was shared to
collect mixed data. While data analysis and graphical representation were made by SPSS
version 20, descriptive (mean and frequency) and inferential (correlation and regression)
statistical analyses were performed with the student's t-test at P< 0.05 as statistical
significance to determine the frequency of the variables, the relationship between the
predictors and dependent variables, and the overall impact of the role of team management
on the critical success factors for the success of project management. Having answered the
key research questions, the researcher concluded that the sociodemographic characteristics
(marital status, previous project management experience, and active project team role), team
composition (diversified, action, and teams with knowledge integration), and PM leadership
competency (PM leadership style, all types of PM communication channels, PM motivation
(building trust, reward, professional development, and realizing specific goals, multiple
intelligence, and being an active conflict manager) are the key roles of team management that
were significantly impacted the critical success factors for the success of project management
(as defined in PMBOK 7) and, consequently, the success of projects. The objectives of the
current research were achieved and recommendations were forwarded to PIE, similar Non-
Governmental Organizations, and researchers in the project management discipline.
Keywords: Team, Project team, Role of Team Management, Project Management, Project
Success
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1. 1. Chapter introduction
In the current chapter, the researcher endeavoured to cover the background information
regarding the role of team management on the success of project management, introducing
Plan International Ethiopia where this research has taken as a case, statement of the problem,
research questions, objectives of the study, significance of the study, the scope of the study,
limitation of the study and how the study is organized to the reader.
The roles of team management are the key success determinants of project management and
the overall success of projects in an organization. Institutional success is the prior goal of
individuals and groups within an organization who strive to meet the expectation of the
stakeholders. According to the Project Management Context, organizations engage in change
management that pushes continuously because of the competitive environment(PMI, 2021).
One of the approaches to execute specific projects and achieve the goals of the organization
is by establishing a focused group(s), project teams, to accomplish beyond stakeholders’
expectations. As a result, understanding the role of the team management – the project
manager and project team paraphernalia involved in a project - are the key success
determinants of the project management of the organization. Project team performance is
determined by how project teams are organized and structured(Adair, 2004) and high team
success necessitates effective team management and leadership.
Project team management is the various activities that bind a team together by bringing
together the team members to achieve the set targets. It helps: provide cohesive leadership
through team building and emotional leadership; relay effective communication; set vision for
common by business strategy; defined team roles and responsibilities through project
management; and resolve challenges/problems through critical thinking and negotiating.
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These are the key project team management aspects that should be critically assessed to
formulate the roles of project team management towards the success of projects.
Theoretical and empirical studies proved that cheetah and action teams, team diversity, project
managers’ effective leadership, and multiple approaches to project change management
practices are the key indicators and enhancers of project team performance/productivity. Even
though it has been given attention in the project organizations, it still requires deepening
studies in the field. Most studies focused on construction project teams and their assessment
was based only on the cash flows, ignoring the individual behaviours of the team, social
impacts, and the nature of the project teams. Therefore, comprehensive searching of both
theoretical and empirical works of literature shouldn’t be a lay away task.
Therefore, the current study will be engaging in identifying and analyzing the role of project
team management in the success of projects currently active at Plan International Ethiopia.
Plan International Ethiopia (PIE) is a humanitarian organization that has been working on
children, young people and communities for over 80 years and is committed to making a
lasting impact on the lives of the most vulnerable and excluded children while supporting the
children's rights and gender equality.
Child sponsorship is the basic foundation of the organization. The sponsorship focuses on
donating to provide a child with food and shelter, adopting, fundraising, campaigning, and
working with children and their community to make lasting changes. Plan International is now
a global children’s charity stretching to over 50 low-income countries to build a better future
for children.
Currently, PIE has four programs, such as Programme 1: Enabling environment for ending
Child Early and Forced Marriage; Programme 2: Protection from violence including abuse,
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exploitation, sexual and gender-based violence and CEFM; Programme 3: Girls are equally
cared for and can access gender-responsive and safe schools and learning spaces; Programme
4: Young women have increased capacities and opportunities for employment and
entrepreneurship. In Ethiopia, PIE focuses on the early survival and development of children;
a better childhood development and education for all; protection of children from violence;
and emergency response and recovery program, that we implement in Amhara, Somali,
Benshangul-Gumuz, Oromia, Gambella, SNNPR, Tigray, Hareri Regional States and as well
as Dire Dawa and Addis Ababa City Administration. Common to these, issues of gender and
disability are also integrated and mainstreamed in all programs.
In a world full of uncertainty with pandemics and wars, which becomes the new normal, Plan
International Ethiopia focuses on priority responses including people in need of food and
shelter, ensuring food security, WASH, Livestock Lifesaving Support, livelihoods and
transition into a mixed recovery and resilience-building phases in its operational areas of
Amhara, Oromia, and SNNP regional areas.
PIE's Purpose is to seek Gender Justice for Girls, Adolescent Girls and Young Women, and
aim to help create an enabling environment where girls, adolescent girls and young women
are safe, valued, equally cared for and have equal opportunities.
PIE's ambition is to become an active Girls' Rights and Gender Equality organization which
works in mutual, long-term partnerships with government, civil society and communities,
across development and humanitarian, resilience and nexus settings, to support and promote
better lives for all Girls, Adolescent Girls and Young Women
PIE's Goal is to directly reach 2.1 million Girls, Adolescent Girls and Young Women
throughout the strategy 2020-2024 and to reach an additional 6.3 million beneficiaries through
our interventions.
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To carry out such activities, PIE has designed and implemented several projects. From the
PIE organogram, the researcher excerpt focuses on Programme Operations, which comprises
of Program Manager/Coordinator of Consortium team leaders (CTL) at CO, Sponsorship
Manager, and Thematic Sector Heads. The latter has 4 Programmes with several projects. The
study targeted 18 projects with disclosed information, which are on Programme 1; 5 projects
from Programme 2; 4 from Programme 3; and 3 from Programme 4 (Figure 1). Fortunately,
35 project managers equivalent to 35 projects participated in the current study.
Figure 1: PIE organogram on the current study (Prepared by the researcher). The total
number of projects is 35 with only 18 disclosed document information.
Teams are the vehicle by which significant work happens in an organization. Whether
operationally focused or responsible for delivering a project, teams are what make the world
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go around (Mullaly, 2021). When it works, the project team is an extremely complex
‘ecosystem’ that is constantly evolving and adapting to its environment. Working on project
team management is vital at all times; and most importantly, living through the pandemic has
offered some insights and observations about how we work in teams – and how we can
improve team interactions going forward. Those insights aren’t just about improving work in
a pandemic, but how we can think about enhancing team functioning (Mullaly, 2021) even as
we move to whatever the next “normal” becomes. Team identity plays a role in team
effectiveness (Reis and Puente-Palacios, 2019). Strong team identity and dynamics facilitate
performance through increased team learning and team efficacy (van Veelen and Ufkes, 2017)
and heterogeneous teams were more productive (Hamilton et al., 2003). Project team diversity
provides a creative advantage for innovative teams (Falk-Krzesinski et al., 2011; Soomro and
Salleh, 2014). Moreover, the project manager role (Fung, 2015) and styles (Goleman, 2017),
motivation (Peterson, 2007), communication (Besteiro et al., 2015), and conflict management
(Harpham, 2021) are highly linked with the success of the project.
Project management is a discipline of organizing and managing resources in such a way that
these resources deliver all the work required to complete a project within defined scope, time,
and cost constraints. Project management is the planning, organizing, monitoring and control
of all aspects of a project, with the motivation of all including safely achieving project goals,
within the agreed schedule, budget and performance criteria (PMI, 2021). According to the
PMBOK 7, project management principles are stewardship, team, stakeholders, value, system
thinking, leadership, training, quality, complexity, risk, adaptability and resilience, and
change.
However, project success cannot be achieved without the success of project management (Han
et al., 2012); however, there were limited studies that addressed comprehensive variables
focusing on this issue. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), particularly in Ethiopia,
have been engaged in traditional project management seemingly ignoring the demands of the
current projectized organizations required especially in a dynamic world full of uncertainty
and complexity. To fill the gap, we designed an explanatory research design taking a specific
case organization, Plan International Ethiopia, to identify and analyze the role of a team
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(sociodemography characteristics, team composition, project managers’ role, styles,
communication, motivation, and conflict management) on the success of project management.
To our best knowledge, this is the first-ever research conducted in Ethiopia targeting specific
projectized NGOs.
1. 5. Research questions
The current project work is designed to address the following key research questions:
(a) What are the specific sociodemographic characteristics that impact the success of project
management?
(b) What kind of team compositions have a direct relationship with the critical success
factors for the success of project management?
(c) What are the key project manager (PM) leadership competencies that have a significant
impact on the success of project management?
(d) What are the key roles of team management for the success factors of project
management, in particular, and for the success of projects, in general?
General Objectives
The overarching aim of this project work is to identify and analyze the role of team
management on the success of project management taking the case of Plan International
Ethiopia (PIE) 4 Programme and 56 Projects in the years 2012-2022 GC in Ethiopia.
Specific objectives
a) To identify the sociodemographic characteristics of teams on PIE projects that have a
relationship with the success of project management.
b) To identify project team characteristics (composition) and analyze the relationship and
their strength with the success of project management in PIE projects.
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c) To analyze key roles of project managers role, styles, communication, motivation, and
conflict management that have impacted the success of project management.
d) To determine the critical roles of team management that ensure the success of project
management principles in PIE projects.
The current project work will contribute to knowledge creation endeavours on a team, team
management, and specific roles of team management towards the success of project
management taking the case of Plan International Ethiopia (PIE). For the teams within each
project of the 4 programs and 35 projects, it provides an insight into their day-to-day team
management to achieve the goals of their projects beyond the expectation of their
stakeholders; team knowledge and learning; readiness to change; stewardship, value, system
thinking, leadership roles and styles, motivation (professional development through
continuous training), quality, project complexity, risk management, and adaptability and
resilience.
For PIE, the current study will help to understand how effective and efficient the team and its
management are to create a standardized document. By answering the key questions in this
particular topic, PIE will be benefited to pin team management aspects that support directly
the success of project management in every program and projects under them. And for similar
other humanitarian and development organizations, there will be an experience to share and
lessons learned from the Plan International Ethiopia projects.
For those who are going to engage in projects, locally and internationally, it provides baseline
information regarding the key components that amplify the role of team management that
directly impacts the success of project management and indeed project success.
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1. 8. Scope of the study
PIE has 4 Programs with 56 projects. Even though we targeted to work on 18 projects,
fortunately, succeeded to cover 35 projects that account for 62.5% of the total projects.
However, our project work did not cover the remaining 21 projects and could not able to get
a response from Programme Director. Besides, due to confidentiality issues of PIE, some
refused to share information that limited us to only 96 sample sizes.
Having believed that the current study covers some critical aspects of the role of team
management literature, it will be able to help the reader or researchers engaged in this field.
Structurally, the researcher formulated the as follows:
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1) Chapter I - Introduction: The researcher provided the background of the study, the
organization where we conducted the study; the problem statement why we need to
work on this specific theme of project work and its significance; research questions to
address through this study; objectives to meet; the scope of our study; and limitations.
2) Chapter II - Literature Review: Both theoretical and empirical studies were
reviewed to build this section.
3) Chapter III - Methodology: It comprises the research design, study variables, study
population, sampling technique/method, sample size, data collection, data analysis
(model, technique, and software), reliability and validity tests, and ethical
considerations.
4) Chapter IV – Analysis and interpretations: The analysis and interpretation section
provided a comprehensive presentation of the data, such as demographic information,
descriptive statistics, and correlation analysis to pin the relationship between
independent (role of teams) and dependent variables (success of project management),
and look into the strength of these relationship through regression analysis. The
findings were discussed focusing on the sociodemographic characteristics, team
composition, project manager role and style, communication, motivation, and conflict
management on the success of project management and project success.
5) Chapter V – Summary, conclusion and recommendation: The current project work
provided an answer to all the research questions to reach a significant conclusion. The
study recommends after we witnessed – based on the data collected from project
participants to achieve specific objectives – what and how specific team management
practices of PIE should be maintained and/or improved for the success of PIE project
management. The latter significantly contributes to establishing a Project Management
Office (PMO) or else that targets the standards of project management principles.
All the research paraphernalia were included in constructing the current project work.
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1. 11. Operational definition
Project: A project may be a temporary (rather than permanent) social system (work system),
possibly constituted by teams (within or across organizations) to accomplish particular tasks
under time constraints.
Team: A team is a small number of people with complementary skills committed to a common
purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually
accountable.
Project Team: A set of individuals performing the work of the project to achieve its
objectives(PMI, 2021). A project team unites people with varied knowledge, expertise and
experience who, within the life span of the project but over long work cycles, must acquire
and pool large amounts of information in order to define or clarify their purpose, adapt or
create the means to progressively elaborate an incrementally or radically new concept, service,
product, activity, or more generally, to generate change.
Team Management: Team management refers to the various activities which bind a team
together by bringing the team members closer to achieving the set targets.
Managerial Abilities Group: The critical success factor of the success of project
management comprises the ability to communicate, define the schedule, accept the proposal
of the project, indicate roles and responsibilities, define realistic goals and objectives, and
team qualifications.
Critical Success Factors Group: The critical success factor of the success of project
management comprises defining the scope of the project, the deadline of the project, the
commitment, planning, ability to communicate, and meeting the budget.
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Monitoring and Control Group: The critical success factor of the success of project
management comprises monitoring meetings, deadline variation, benefit variation, control
point, budget variation and identification of goal deviations.
Lessons Learned Group: The critical success factor of the success of project management
comprises deadline, budget, communication, project proposal, goals and project
documentation.
The success of Project Management: Meeting the value of 4 and beyond (on the Likert
Scale) on the four factors such as managerial ability group (MAG), critical success factor
group (CSF), monitor and control group (MCG), and lessons learned group (LLG) that were
used to measure the success of project management in the current study.
Project success: a project is said to be successful when it succeeds in achieving the expected
business case which needs to be identified and defined during the project inception and
selection before starting the development phase.
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Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2. 1. Chapter introduction
This section thoroughly discussed the role of team management on the success of project
management, viz., team composition (team size, type, identity, climate, system, knowledge
and learning); project managers’ leadership role and styles, communication, motivation, and
conflict management; the success of project management in terms of the 4 identified groups
(24 factors) (managerial ability, critical success factors, monitor and control, and lessons
learned).
The roles of team management are the key success determinants of project management and
the overall success of projects in an organization. Institutional success is the prior goal of
individuals and groups within an organization who strive to meet the expectation of the
stakeholders. According to the Project Management Context, organizations engage in change
management that pushes continuously because of the competitive environment(PMI, 2021).
One of the approaches to execute specific projects and achieve the goals of the organization
is by establishing a focused group(s), project teams, to accomplish beyond stakeholders’
expectations. As a result, understanding the role of the team management – the project
manager and project team paraphernalia involved in a project - are the key success
determinants of the project management of the organization. Project team performance is
determined by how project teams are organized and structured(Adair, 2004) and high team
success necessitates effective team management and leadership.
Hereafter, the key aspects that comprise the roles of team management, such as team and its
characteristics, and factors of the success of project management are discussed in detail.
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A team is a group of people who work together to accomplish something beyond their self-
interests; however, not all groups are teams. A simple but effective description of what is
meant by “a team” comes from Katzenbach and Smith (2015): “A team is a small number of
people with complementary skills committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and
approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable (Maheshwari, 2020; Cobb,
2011; Katzenbach and Smith, 2015). For the vast majority of us, teams are the vehicle by
which significant work happens in our organization. Whether operationally focused or
responsible for delivering a project, teams are what make the world go around (Mullaly, 2021).
Teams operate in an organizational context that, in turn, influences their functioning; they
have some levels of interdependencies, and they are complex dynamic systems with shared
common goals with the team members interacting socially and often virtually. They could be
project teams, work teams, executive teams, cross-functional teams, dispersed or virtual
teams, or multi-functional teams (Drouin and Sankaran, 2017; Maheshwari, 2020; Jordan,
2016; Tseng et al., 2004).
2. 2. 1. Team composition
Team characteristics set the stage for the dynamics of creative behaviour. Many elements of
teams such as size, composition and demographics may hinder or foster the team's ability to
work. Differences in ability, creativity, or personal characteristics among team members are
likely to influence the team development process. Ideally, the more variety of knowledge and
experience the team has the more synergy will take place and the more creative solution
evolve. At the same time, however, the greater the variety of resources that are present in the
team, the more difficult it is to arrive at a shared understanding, let alone a shared solution to
problems. The more points of view – the more difficult it is to reach a common perception of
both the problem and solution – and the more time will be spent in the team deliberation
processes and forums (Shani et al., 2000).
The study showed that truly teamwork has an impact on organizational performance, and it
was not just a mere impact of collaboration but rather a positive impact of cooperation on
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organizational performance (Maheshwari, 2020). To meet globally-consistent needs, global
teams have been assembled to develop products; however, the dispersed composition of
individuals, the need for face-to-face meetings, and cultural and language diversity are the
challenges of team management. Such teams are different from traditional project teams. As
a result, a variety of information technologies, such as videoconferencing, audioconferencing,
and emails, were used in an effort to manage the global teams effectively (McDonough and
Cedrone, 2000). Currently, due to the global pandemic, Covid-19, different product
developers, especially from the USA and China, brought virtual platforms like Zoom, Google
Meet, Microsoft Meet, etc., to meet the needs of remote working.
Team membership changes (i.e., team members joining and/or leaving) shape the functioning
and performance of organizational teams. However, empirical studies of team membership
change appear to be progressing in three largely independent directions as researchers
consider: (a) how newcomers impact and are impacted by the teams they join; (b) how teams
adapt to member departures; or (c) how teams function under conditions of high membership
fluidity, with little theoretical integration or consensus across these three areas (Trainer et al.,
2020).
Team size, response time, task complexity, team climate and team cohesion have an impact
on software development team productivity (Sudhakar et al., 2012). Team effectiveness
predicts the role of team identity, which can be considered an element that unites individuals
around team goals. To identify the contribution of the affective, cognitive and evaluative
aspects of work team identity, as a collective phenomenon, to team effectiveness, data were
collected from 131 work teams of a Brazilian public organization with units in all state capitals
of the country. Work team identity scale, the work team satisfaction scale, the team
performance scale and objective performance indicators collected based on the achievement
of the goals set for the units that make up the organization were used. Regression analysis
results showed that the evaluative dimension explains about 6% of the performance
assessment given by managers, whereas the affective dimension explains 63% of the
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satisfaction with work teams. No significant results were found for the objective performance
indicators. The observed findings demonstrate the pertinence of understanding the work team
identity as a collective and multidimensional phenomenon, as well as the contribution of its
different components in explaining variables that represent effectiveness (Reis and Puente-
Palacios, 2019).
Team diversity
Cultural diversity has a significant impact on innovation team performance (Jones et al.,
2020); however, team dynamics play an important role in maximizing these advantages, and
cross-cultural competence of team members is required. Team diversity facilitated
performance for teams with a strong, but not a weak, collective team identity. Moreover, team
diversity facilitated performance through increased team learning and team efficacy only for
teams with strong team identities. The objective diversity index seemed a more powerful
predictor of performance compared with the subjective index, particularly for strongly
identifying teams. These findings provide valuable insight for increasingly diversifying
organizations, on the circumstances under which team diversity’s potential flourishes (van
Veelen and Ufkes, 2017).
Diversion among project teams, which are engaged in knowledge-intensive work, has an
adverse effect on project performance, but information technology (IT) mitigates the negative
effect of team dispersion on project performance, especially in high information volume
projects (Bardhan et al., 2013). A study conducted on developing a comprehensive team
effectiveness survey across 6 multinational organizations in 4 geographical regions concluded
that there are implications for future cross-cultural research on team effectiveness and beyond
in other areas of international management (Gibson et al., 2003).
In response to the debate that the performance implications of demographic diversity can be
usefully reframed in terms of network variables that reflect distinct social capital, two
hypotheses, decreased network density – the average strength of the relationship among team
members – lowers a team's capacity for coordination – and high network heterogeneity were
tested. The analysis of data on the social networks, organizational tenure, and productivity of
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224 corporate R&D teams indicates that both network variables help account for team
productivity(Reagans and Zuckerman, 2001). These findings support a recasting of the
diversity-performance debate in terms of the network processes that are more proximate to
outcomes of interest.
A study conducted on the effect of team composition on productivity using novel data from a
garment plant indicated that more heterogeneous teams were more productive, holding
average ability constant, which is consistent with explanations emphasizing mutual team
learning and intra-team bargaining (Hamilton et al., 2003).
Project teams comprising members from culturally diverse backgrounds bring fresh ideas
and new approaches to problem-solving. The challenge, however, is that they also introduce
different understandings and expectations regarding team dynamics and integration. For a
project manager to effectively work and influence a multicultural construction project team,
at the same time being attentive to the diversity and creating the structure required for success,
the framework for managing a multicultural project team was synthesized from 8 key multi-
dimensional factors (Godfrey Ochieng and Price, 2009). The identified key dimensions
include leadership style, team selection and composition process, cross-cultural management
of team development process, cross-cultural communication, cross-cultural collectivism,
cross-cultural trust, cross-cultural management and cross-cultural uncertainty.
Diversity provides a creative advantage for innovation teams. However, team dynamics play
an important role in maximizing these advantages, and cross-cultural competence of team
members is required. To derive maximum benefit, optimal team operating principles are
required. The key learnings include the importance of establishing communication standards,
the science of team science (SciTS) (Falk-Krzesinski et al., 2011), team assessment of
thinking styles and the utility of cultural awareness instruments (Jones et al., 2020). A degree
of cross-cultural awareness and competence could be considered a natural advantage to a team
member. In addition to working within the team, cross-cultural competence could also be
valuable for interactions external to the organization e.g., customers, suppliers, regulators and
patients in the myriad markets the team is engaged in (Ramalu et al., 2010).
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Team types
The project team resembled a cheetah team, which is a small, elite unit, separate from the
product development team, that can be mobilized quickly to solve an unexpected problem
threatening to hold up a project (Engwall and Svensson, 2001) or an action team (Mohammed
et al., 2010); that is, a team performing goal-directed, time-sensitive tasks necessitating
members to coordinate actions in real-time and under pressure. These teams occur particularly
in complex settings (Salas et al., 2008), where swift responses depend on team members’
ability to effectively incorporate their cognitive abilities. On a large, dynamically complex
project in which team members had a record of “good problem-solving abilities,” the study
revealed how the team members demonstrated a collective ability to swiftly handle emergent
issues, which again decreased the intensity of time and performance pressure (Hansen et al.,
2020).
When it works, the project team is an extremely complex ‘ecosystem’ that is constantly
evolving and adapting to its environment. It might simply be a group of individuals, but the
collective team organization is a cohesive unit that can achieve the seemingly impossible
whilst growing ever stronger. Yet it is also extremely fragile – make one change and the whole
entity suffers, requiring an extended period in which to recover (Jordan, 2016).
A project team unites people with varied knowledge, expertise and experience who, within
the life span of the project but overlong work cycles, must acquire and pool large amounts of
information to define or clarify their purpose, adapt or create the means to progressively
elaborate an incrementally or radically new concept, service, product, activity, or more
generally, to generate change (Drouin and Sankaran, 2017). The project team carries out the
day-to-day technical work of the project, produces the project’s deliverables they are
responsible for carrying out the tasks that are assigned to them and report to the project
manager (Bernie Roseke, 2019). One of the highly sensitive tasks is structuring a project team,
which the most effective method is structuring teams by the team members’ affinities and
talents presented as team roles (Šandrk Nukić et al., 2015).
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Team climate
The team climate is the exchange of ideas and perceptions among team members in favour to
promote innovation in work processes. Team climate factors such as collaboration,
cooperation, coordination, collective thinking, role allocation, participative safety, and
cohesion are synonyms for each other and therefore they have a significant impact on team
performance (Soomro and Salleh, 2014).
Distributed teams are common in global companies. By understanding the elements that affect
Knowledge Work Productivity (KWP), companies can stimulate or decrease specific elements
to improve the productivity of their distributed knowledge workers (Bosch‐Sijtsema et al.,
2009). The crucial elements of KWP in distributed teams include time spent by knowledge
workers in different work modes and on different tasks; team structure and composition; team
process; physical, virtual and social workspaces; and organizational context.
Under what conditions do team learning behaviours best predict team performance? From
meta-analytic efforts synthesize results from 113 effect sizes and 7758 teams to investigate
how different conceptualizations (fundamental, intrateam, and interteam), team characteristics
(team size and team familiarity), task characteristics (interdependence, complexity, and type),
and methodological characteristics (students vs. nonstudents and measurement choice) affect
the relationship between team learning behaviours and team performance. While different
conceptualizations of team learning behaviours independently predict performance, only
intrateam learning behaviours uniquely predict performance. A more in-depth investigation
into the moderating conditions contradicts the familiar adage of “it depends.” The strength of
the relationship between intrateam learning behaviours and team performance did not depend
on team familiarity, task complexity, or sample type. However, results suggested this
relationship was stronger in larger teams, task teams with moderate interdependence, teams
performing project/action tasks, and studies that use measures that capture a wider breadth of
the team learning behaviour construct space. These efforts suggest that common boundary
conditions do not moderate this relationship. Scholars can leverage these results to develop
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more comprehensive theories addressing the different conceptualizations of team learning
behaviours as well as providing clarity on the scenarios where team learning behaviours are
most needed. Further, practitioners can use the results to develop more guided team-based
policies that can overcome some of the challenges of forming and developing learning teams
(Wiese et al., 2021).
On a large, dynamically complex project in which team members had a record of “good
problem-solving abilities,” the study revealed how the team members demonstrated a
collective ability to swiftly handle emergent issues, which again decreased the intensity of
time and performance pressure (Hansen et al., 2020).
The role of project managers seems to be very misunderstood throughout the world because
many project managers arrive at their positions as a natural progression from their jobs as
engineers, programmers, scientists, and other kinds of jobs. However, it is beyond handling
the technical issues. The primary responsibility of the project manager is to ensure that all
work is completed on time, within budget and scope, and at the correct performance
level(Heagney, 2016).
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Effective leadership excites people to exceptional performance. Dynamically complex
projects require quite talented leadership. Alberts (2007) stated that an organization’s ability
to create and manage knowledge maybe its only lasting competitive advantage. Managers,
whose responsibilities include fostering purposeful knowledge creation and transfer, need a
framework for understanding how these goals can be factored into team performance and what
factors contribute to the achievement of these goals. Leadership is among the most important
factors (clarity of mission, involvement of key experts, multidiscipline understanding, the
effectiveness of team processes, group well-being, the team’s relationship to product users,
leadership, and organization support) that contribute to successful team performance (Alberts,
2007).
More broadly, the challenge for the next generation of project leaders will be to develop the
capacities of their team members for learning, knowledge-creation, and systems thinking
about the project and the complex systems they operate within – all within a relatively short
time. Therefore, establishing a critical role for leaders in guiding to higher levels of
effectiveness is required. This role centers on using the thinking capacities associated with
systems thinking, knowledge processing, action learning, and pragmatism. It is also to design
systems to imbue these capacities into the operation of project teams (Cavaleri and Reed,
2008).
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2. 2. 3. Project manager leadership style
According to the data, the authoritative leadership style has the most positive effect on climate,
but three others—affiliative, democratic, and coaching—follow close behind. That said, the
research indicates that no style should be relied on exclusively, and all have at least short-term
uses.
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2. 2. 4. Project managers’ communication
Communication is one of the project management bodies of knowledge indispensable for the
success of projects(PMI, 2021). Effective communication is the most significant ability for a
project manager and successful project. However, during the management of project
communication, it is very often forgotten, often overlooked or taken for granted. In the
management of projects, it is principally necessary to deal with communication during all
project lifecycle. The primary responsibility of the project manager is to ensure that all work
is completed on time, within budget and scope, and at the correct performance level(Heagney,
2016).
Team members, including the project manager, need to interact with one another to get project
work done. The most potent form of interaction, however, remains face-to-face interaction for
at least two reasons: it allows for far richer forms of communication and it facilitates the
exercise of group pressure far more than digital interaction (Cobb, 2011). Team members get
a deeper feeling for what the team as a whole considers important when dealing with one
another face-to-face. As face-to-face interaction is replaced with virtual means of interaction
like voice-only communications (phone conferences) and emails (Cascio, 2000), the team
begins to lose this richness of interaction and the power of physical presence.
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Non-verbal communication (NVC) is an important component of human communication. A
movement of the body, or some eye contact, can convey significant amounts of information.
Hatem, Kwan, and Miles (2014) studied the impact of NVC on team productivity in the
construction industry and particularly in the design process. The report indicated that there is
a very big difference in the number of NVC movements (and individual productivity) when
the participants making up a team have different levels of experience, directly resulting in the
more experienced participant dominating the execution of the task. Team productivity was
found to be greatly more affected by experience level than by cultural differences in the team
(Hatem et al., 2014).
Stimulating team member performance requires a project manager to harness many different
interpersonal skills. Knowing what motivates each team member will provide the project
manager with the ability to connect team members to environments, assignments,
responsibilities, and objectives that foster personal motivation. In other words, the project
manager should avoid applying a broad application of motivation to all team members based
solely on the manager’s perception. Because motivation can inspire, encourage, and stimulate
individuals to achieve common goals through teamwork, it is in the project manager’s best
interest to drive toward project success (project team performance) through the creation and
maintenance of a motivating environment for all members of the team (Peterson, 2007).
Organizations depend on the people that work for them. However, to get the critical work
done, businesses need to rely on skilled project managers to stimulate the unmotivated and
uncommitted team members out there. To boost the role of a team towards the success of
project management, the project manager follows motivation tips (Savage, 2019) of project
management: establish an environment of openness; set realistic goals; let them know you
trust their abilities; don’t ever punish failure; encourage team play; respect their time; provide
opportunities for professional development; and be motivated yourself!
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For senior project managers to consistently deliver successful projects in a complex
environment, they must have superior technical skills and project management expertise. It is
also believed that they must also be experts in the “soft stuff” – masters of interpersonal
management skills which get results – and help both people and projects flourish (Davis and
Cable, 2006; Peterson, 2007). The key business drivers and key team behaviours central to
effective project management can be improved by incorporating behaviours supportive of
engagement; strengths-based management; optimism, resilience, hope, and positive emotions.
When all of these characteristics are combined to create a Positive Workplace environment,
you have created high-performance project teams that improve productivity, profitability, and
both employee and customer satisfaction (Davis and Cable, 2006).
Multiple intelligence is a key to project success. The use of multiple intelligences (linguistic
intelligence, logical-mathematical; spatial intelligence; bodily-kinesthetic intelligence;
musical intelligence; interpersonal intelligence; intrapersonal intelligence; and natural
intelligence) significantly enhances team productivity. In addition, various contemporary
dimensions of intelligence, such as cultural intelligence, emotional intelligence (EQ), and
practical intelligence, may also enhance team performance (Green et al., 2005).
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2. 2. 7. Team conflict management
Resistant teams ended up resisting the authority of the project manager (PM) and derailing
the project due to the symptoms of another underlying issue. The PM should quickly separate
the symptoms from the real problem to prevent the project team from “losing” and prevent it
from derailing, quite possibly terminally so. Dealing with this situation requires a three-phase
response: acknowledge that the team is feeling as though it is being asked to do too much;
respond to the stated position with an objective analysis of what is happening on the project;
focus on agreeing on a way forward. Therefore, the long-term success of the team and
individuals are achieved without ignoring the project's success at any cost (Jordan, 2021).
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Conflict states (which include task and relationship conflict types), which are the shared
perceptions among members about a disagreement over task and relationship conflict, and
conflict processes (cooperative and competitive management approaches), which are
members’ interactions aimed at working through tasks and interpersonal disagreements. The
study provided task conflict at the end of a team’s life cycle, like relationship conflict, can
have a significant negative effect on performance, but only when teams’ conflict
management approaches are competitive (rather than cooperative) (Maltarich et al., 2018).
Researchers proposed 5 approaches for managing project team conflict (Five Approaches to
Managing Conflict (conflictmediate.com)): avoidance (low assertive, low cooperation),
accommodation (low assertive, high cooperation), competition (high assertive, low
cooperation), compromise (moderately assertive and cooperative),
collaboration (high assertive, high cooperation).
Project management is the approach used by the project manager on the application of
knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to manage project activities with the ultimate aim to
meet the project goals and stakeholders’ expectations (PMI, 2021). Moreover, project
management typically refers to the tasks that include defining a project's demands, specifying
the type of work, allocating required resources, planning and implementation phases, and
controlling the project progress stages (Meredith and Mantel Jr, 2011).
Team leadership is essential for team effectiveness. The contribution of leadership to effective
team performance rests on the extent to which team leaders help members achieve a
synergistic threshold, where collective effort accomplishes more than the sum of individual
abilities or efforts(Zaccaro et al., 2008). A project manager is a person most responsible not
only for the success of “iron triangle” (cost, time, and quality) management(De Wit, 1988)
but also for integration, scope, human resource, communication, risk and procurement
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management. Therefore, she/he needs to be qualified to motivate and lead members of the
project management team to success (PMI, 2021; Henkel et al., 2019). Project managers must
learn how to develop their skills and ability on time, with much collaboration, these
technologies include leadership, communication, organization, team building, coping and
risks including management, conflict, planning and resource management and skills
technologies. Successful project management requires the technical expertise of an effective
project manager, and the ability to motivate, and lead a project management team (Gasemagha
and Kowang, 2021).
In nutshell, the nature of the team (size, diversity, identity, type, climate, system, knowledge
and learning, building and development, etc), the project manager’s leadership role and style,
motivation, creativity, conflict management, as well as team readiness are the key roles of
team management that ensure the success of project management. In this sub-section, the
researcher provided an empirical literature review on the key groups of the success of project
management.
(Gido and Clements, 2014) in their famous manual reported that the critical factors for
successful global project management are planning and communication, clear objectives,
active stakeholders involvement, effective project control, and learning and understanding of
the culture and customs of other similar projects (Gido and Clements, 2014). These
demonstrate respect, help build trust, and aid in developing an effective project team.
Therefore, the role of team management is indispensable for the success of project
management.
The success of project management can be evaluated through already mentioned criteria of
time, cost, quality, scope, resource and activity (Kerzner, 2017), but also through models of
measuring success like PMPA – Project Management Performance Assessment (Bryde, 2005)
or maturity models of management within an organization like Project Excellence Model®
(Westerveld, 2003). It is hard to answer the question of project management success
evaluation precisely because project management creates both tangible and intangible
benefits(Mir and Pinnington, 2014). Project management success is one of the elements of
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project success because the latter is hardly achievable without it (Han et al., 2012). Moreover,
the project management success factors are categorized into C1 (PM competencies; PMs’ EQ,
soft PM elements; stuff in the project team; and application of project management knowledge
and skills from PM and project team, as well as their coordination), C2 (Organizational
structure and culture), and C3 (Project management tools and techniques and project
management standards) (Radujković and Sjekavica, 2017).
Organizations are seeking to achieve project effectiveness with a lot of effort because: (1)
project team effectiveness can increase job productivity and morale of the team members, (2)
an effective project team helps the project manager to focus more on the important work by
avoiding the need to micro-manage the team’s day to day work details, (3) project team
effectiveness promotes team work within and across the teams to help the entire organization
to perform more effectively, and (4) effective project team can increase service quality and
customer satisfaction (Fung, 2015).
Research on team effectiveness has used several criteria for team success. Three of the most
important are success in producing client deliverables, promoting team development, and
developing team commitment (Cobb, 2011). Productivity and achievement of project aims are
critical things considered in the evaluation of project success and effectiveness. Project team
management (communications, motivation, effective human resources etc.) has a direct
impact on productivity since this is the core unit of activity execution (Kara and Kester, 2015).
The 5 criteria of project team effectiveness (team mission, goal achievement, empowerment,
open and honest communication, and positive roles and norms) (Fung, 2015).
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consistently superior results. The group relentlessly pursues performance excellence through
shared goals, shared leadership, collaboration, open communication, clear role expectations
and group operating rules, early conflict resolution, and a strong sense of accountability and
trust among its members (Maheshwari, 2020). The most important eight factors that contribute
to successful team performance: (1) Clarity of mission, (2) Involvement of key experts, (3)
Multidiscipline understanding, (4) Effectiveness of team processes, (5) Group well-being, (6)
The team’s relationship to product users. (7) Leadership, (8) Organization support (Alberts,
2007).
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Dasí, Pedersen, Barakat, and Alves (2021) analyzed the relationships between project
performance and the team’s ability, motivation, and opportunity (AMO) by exploring which
combinations of AMO factors are best for the project performance at different levels of
complexity. The hypotheses tested on a sample of 285 projects, the study showed that, whereas
ability is the key factor both as a main effect and as a constraining factor that acts as a
bottleneck for project performance in simple projects, in the case of complex projects, the
multiplicative model is superior given the significant interaction effects of motivation (Dasí
et al., 2021).
Productivity and work efficiency are common words in the consulting business. Productivity
means each project member can utilize their effort to complete an assignment within a specific
resource, budget and timeline. Productivity is not considered on an individual but also
consider as a team or group of workers. Great teamwork also increases the productivity of the
implementation project. In other words, efficiency means how we can utilize the current
resource to complete the project on the plan or faster than schedule. Change management –
PDCA (Plan/Do/Check/Act) technique and/or some other specific change control and
communication technique to mitigate delay and risk that may happen along the way of project
implementation – is a key factor to improve project productivity and efficiency (Wichayasiri,
2018).
Job crafting involves the process through which employees can define and structure their tasks
and environment at work in ways they find meaningful (Wrzesniewski and Dutton, 2001). By
taking more control over the design and nature of their job, people can derive more meaning
from their work. It has been suggested that employee job crafting is positively related to job
performance through employee work engagement. Expanding this individual-level
perspective to the team level by hypothesizing that team job crafting relates positively to team
performance through teamwork engagement, data collected among 525 individuals working
in 54 teams that provided occupational health services largely supported that job crafting can
be simultaneously used at the team and individual level to improve job performance (Tims et
al., 2013).
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Having extended the research (Hyväri, 2006; Andersen et al., 2006; Christenson and Walker,
2008) to the identification of the variables responsible for the success of projects, (Besteiro et
al., 2015) selected six variables using the “Joint Analysis Method” indicated as relevant for
each drivers group. The Critical Success Factors (variables) for the successful Project
Management identified by the four drivers groups (Managerial Ability Group, Critical Success
Factors Group, Monitoring and Control Group, and Lessons Learned Group), by order of
importance, were:
1) Managerial Abilities Group – ability to communicate, define the schedule, accept the
proposal of the project, indicate roles and responsibilities, define realistic goals and objectives
and team qualifications;
2) Critical Success Factors Group – defining the scope of the project, the deadline of the
project, the commitment, planning, ability to communicate, and meeting the budget;
4) Lessons Learned Group – deadline, budget, communication, project proposal, goals and
project documentation.
The current study was performed having proposed the below conceptual framework to analyze
the three RTM categories, viz., sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age, marital status,
education status, monthly salary, form of employment, previous and current project work
experiences, and role on the team), team composition (team size, type, identity, climate,
system, and knowledge and learning), and PM leadership competency (role, style,
communication, motivation, and conflict management) whether they impact the 4 drivers
group(Besteiro et al., 2015), such as Managerial Ability Group (ability to communicate, define
the schedule, accept proposals from the project, indicate roles and responsibilities, define
realistic goals and objectives, and team qualification), Critical Success Factors Group
(defining the scope of the project, meeting the deadline, commitment from the team, planning
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the project, ability to communicate, and meeting the budget), Monitoring and Control Group
(project monitoring meeting, deadline variation, benefit variation, determining the control
points, budget variation, and identification of goal deviation (feedback meetings), and Lessons
Learned Group (conclusion with the planned deadline, concluding with the planned budget,
information as to the evolution of the project (communication), conclusion with the
established scope (project proposal), changes to objectives and goals, and compilation of
project documentation).
Based on the findings, the researcher provided an answer to the key research questions after a
justifiable relationship was witnessed between the predictors (key factors of the role of team
management) and the dependents (the 24 critical success factors for the success of the project
management).
Figure 2: Conceptual framework of the current project work (prepared by the researcher with
the description stated above).
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CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3. 1. Chapter introduction
This chapter covers the study design, study variables, study area and population, sampling
procedure, sample size, data collection instrument, methods of data collection, and ethical
considerations while conducting the research.
3. 2. Research design
The study is going to identify and analyze the role of team management on the success of
project management by taking Plan International Ethiopia (PIE) as a case study. Therefore, it
is explanatory – to identify any causal links between the factors or variables that pertain to the
research problem –that the current study followed.
PIE as a case study would be indispensable in investigating the effect of project team
management on the success of project management. Case studies not only provide details of
the organization, but also in-depth knowledge regarding the team, its management, and how
that positively impacts the project management success. We will use a questionnaire-based
qualitative and quantitative data collection approach to obtain quality information from all
team members including the project manager. Quantitative data collection is cost-effective,
quicker, objective, and quite accurate. In the current study, we will be collected and analyzed
numerical data on the roles of team management that are critical for the success of project
management.
In the current research, we collected and compared quite sizable variables (as we already
pointed out in chapter 2) at one point in time. Then, it was a cross-sectional study that helped
to analyze data of variables collected at one given point in time across a sample population
and on a pre-defined subset. It’s quicker, to collect these variables at one time, and multiple
results can be researched at once.
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3. 3. Study variables
Independent variables are the ones you might think of as the manipulated“input” variables,
while the dependent variables are the ones where the impact or “output” of that input variation
would be observed. In our case, the independent variables are the sociodemographic
characteristics, team composition (team size, type, identity, climate, system, and knowledge
and learning), PM leadership role, PM leadership style, PM communication, PM
motivation, and PM conflict management (The 5 Main Roles of the Project Manager
(projectengineer.net) and (6 Project Management Leadership Styles (brightwork.com).
The dependent variable is the success of project management. The researcher selected 6
variables from 4 drivers group, such as Managerial Ability Group (ability to communicate,
define the schedule, accept proposals from the project, indicate roles and responsibilities,
define realistic goals and objectives, and team qualification), Critical Success Factors Group
(defining the scope of the project, meeting the deadline, commitment from the team, planning
the project, ability to communicate, and meeting the budget), Monitoring and Control
Group (project monitoring meeting, deadline variation, benefit variation, determining the
control points, budget variation, and identification of goal deviation (feedback meetings), and
Lessons Learned Group (conclusion with the planned deadline, concluding with the planned
budget, information as to the evolution of the project (communication), conclusion with the
established scope (project proposal), changes to objectives and goals, and compilation of
project documentation).
Plan International Ethiopia (PIE) is a humanitarian organization that has been working on
children, young people and communities for over 80 years and is committed to making a
lasting impact on the lives of the most vulnerable and excluded children while supporting the
children's rights and gender equality. Structurally, Plan International, Inc. includes the Global
Hub which is located in the United Kingdom, over 50 Country Offices and their Programme
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Units, 4 Regional Hubs (for the Americas (located in Panama), for Asia Pacific (located in
Bangkok), for the Middle East, Eastern and Southern Africa (located in Nairobi) and one in
West and Central Africa (located in Senegal) and 4 Liaison Offices (Geneva, New York,
Addis Ababa, and Brussels). These Liaison Offices provide a platform to strengthen our
partnerships with international bodies, negotiations with key decision-makers and promote
the rights of children globally.
When it comes to PIE, there are four programmes, viz., Programme 1: Enabling environment
for ending Child Early and Forced Marriage; Programme 2: Protection from violence incl.
abuse, exploitation, sexual and gender-based violence and CEFM; Programme 3: Girls are
equally cared for and can access gender-responsive and safe schools and learning spaces; and
Programme 4: Young women have increased capacities and opportunities for employment
and entrepreneurship. The current study focuses on Programme 1 with 4 Projects (She Leads,
Yena Raey, Break Free, and Transform Assertiveness for Local Communities in HTP) and
Programme 2 with 3 Projects (Ethiopian Joint Responses, Protection on Unaccompanied and
Separated Children for South Sudan Refugees, and Protection of Conflict Displaced Children
in Amhara, Tigray and Afar Regions). But, fortunately, we extended to 35 projects. Under
each of these programs, there are a total of 56 projects with at least a minimum of 4 employees
that account for 224 staff.
3. 5. Sampling technique/method
Taking a subset from chosen sampling frame or entire population is called sampling. Sampling
can be used to make inferences about a population or to make generalizations to existing
theory. Generally, they are two types of sampling techniques such as probability or random
sampling (simple random, stratified, cluster sampling, systematic sampling, and multi-stage
sampling) and non-probability sampling (quota sampling, snowball sampling, purposive or
judgment sampling, and convenience sampling)(Taherdoost, 2016).
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As mentioned above, the target populations are team members of Plan International Ethiopia
(PIE) who completed and still have been working on from single to multiple 35 projects under
the umbrella of 4 Programme. The current study excluded the lines of Operational Director,
Humanitarian Director, Head of Business Development, and Head of influencing and
Communication of PIE as the focus of the study is on Program Director’s wing that leads
projects under 4 programmes and focus on 56 projects.
The researcher employed a simple random sampling technique giving equal chances to all the
members of the 56 projects. Typically, probability sampling is a favoured sampling technique
among students as it is an inexpensive, convenient, and simple option compared to other
sampling techniques. Since our collaborator, a project manager at PIE, got access to most of
the project members and the respondents were readily and easily available, though sampling
error is inevitable, we trusted those participants of 35 projects (62.5%) represent the entire
project team at PIE.
3. 6. Sample size
The sample size is a set of participants selected from the population (complete set of people
or universe), which is less in number (size) but adequately represents the population from
which it is drawn so that true inferences about the population can be made from the results
obtained (Kadam and Bhalerao, 2010). This set of individuals is known as the “sample.” The
size of respondents is very important for getting accurate, statistically significant results and
running the study successfully.
For the current study, the population is the total number of staff who participated in all the 56
projects under the 4 Programme of PIE. We considered the minimum number of team
members including the PM in a single project to be 4. Multiplying with the total number of
projects, the population become 224 staff members (N = 224). For this research, representative
projects from the 4 Programme were conveniently selected (details of the first 18 projects
originally targeted are not disclosed in this paper due to data confidentiality, but will be
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available to the examiners upon request). Then the critical value of the normal distribution
was determined at the 95% confidence level, which is 1.96 (z-score at 95% CI). Next, the
researcher determined the sample proportion (p) which can be used from previous survey
results or be collected by running a small pilot survey. Since the researcher could not be sure,
0.5 (50%) was used as a conservative approach, and it will give the largest possible sample
size. Then, the margin of error (e) was determined, which is the range in which the true
population is expected to lie. The researcher was taken the smaller (5%) level of precision or
margin of error(e = 0.05) for the more precision and hence the exact answer.
The standard formula (based on “Corrected” Cochran’s sample size formula) for sample size
is:
Or, the rounded form of the above samples size calculation is,
In the current paper, using N = population size of the 56 project staff (224); z-score = 1.96;
sample population (p) = 0.05; and margin of error (level of precision), e = 0.05. The sample
size calculated was 141.728 ~ 142 respondents, PIE team members (unit of analysis) engaging
in 35 projects including PIE project teams, PM, Programme Head, Programme Director, and
Project Sponsor.
3. 7. Data collection
Source
All the necessary data was gathered from the primary source who are employees among the
team members of the 56 Projects, the Programme head, and the programme sponsor through
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questionnaires from the current employees who finished and/or finalized projects and former
employees who completed projects at PIE.
Types
Data was collected virtually through Microsoft Forms distributed through email, Telegram,
and LinkedIn where both the PI and collaborator at PIE engaged. They were used to obtain
the desired information from the team members, PM, Programme Head, Programme Director,
and Projects sponsor – which is the population of interest – and each item designed addressed
the specific objective of the study. The questions were checked whether all the terms were
well understood by the target respondents at PIE and simplified by providing a brief
explanation.
Instruments
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3. 8. Data analysis – model, technique, and software
The data analysis process, or alternately, data analysis steps, involves gathering all the
information, processing it, exploring the data, and using it to find patterns and other insights.
The process consists of data requirement gathering, data collection, data cleansing, data
analysis, data interpretation, and data visualization(Kelley, 2022).
Statistical analysis answers the question, “What happened?” This analysis covers data
collection, analysis, modeling, interpretation, and presentation using dashboards. The
statistical analysis breaks down into two sub-categories: 1) Descriptive analysis works with
either complete or selections of summarized numerical data. It illustrates means and
deviations in continuous data and percentages and frequencies in categorical data and 2)
Inferential analysis works with samples derived from complete data. An analyst can arrive at
different conclusions from the same comprehensive data set just by choosing different
samplings. A descriptive statistics model was employed for the current study. To investigate
the relationship and their strength between the independent and dependent variables,
correlation and regression tests were performed.
Data analysis techniques (interchangeably data analysis methods or data analysis types) are
the kind of data analysis used, which all fall into qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis.
The qualitative data analysis method derives data via words, symbols, pictures, and
observations This method doesn’t use statistics and the common qualitative methods include
content analysis (for analyzing behavioural and verbal data), narrative analysis (for working
with data culled from an interview, diaries, and surveys), and grounded theory (for developing
causal explanations for a given event by studying and extrapolating from one or more past
cases). On the other hand, quantitative data analysis is a statistical data analysis method that
collects raw data and processes it into numerical data, which includes hypothesis testing (for
assessing the truth of a given hypothesis or theory for a data set or demographic), mean (or
average determines a subject’s overall trend by dividing the sum of a list of numbers by the
number of items on the list), and sample size determination. With this, the current study
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employed quantitative analysis methods to present the role the team management in PIE
projects on the success of project management.
The responses from the online Microsoft Forms were exported to Microsoft Excel, coded, and
imported to Statical Program for Social Science (SPSS) software. There, descriptive (mean,
mode, standard deviation, etc), correlation, and regression tests were performed. And it
endeavoured to establish the relationship between the role of team management and the
success of project management through correlation and regression. This single point in time
responses will be analyzed and interpreted through Pearson Correlation and regression
analysis to determine the relationship and the effect of the two variables (to determine which
independent variable hold the most influence over dependent variables – that can be leveraged
to make essential research and business decision). Analyzed data were again exported to Excel
to re-arrange in tabular form.
Reliability and validity are ways of demonstrating and communicating the rigour of research
processes and the trustworthiness of research findings. Reliability describes how far a
particular test, procedure or tool, such as a questionnaire, will produce similar results in
different circumstances (consistency), assuming nothing else has changed. Whereas validity
is about the closeness (accuracy) of what we believe we are measuring to what we intended
to measure(Roberts and Priest, 2006). We have performed reliability and validity of the
quantitative research, which the current study is about. Internal consistency of items such as
individual questions in a questionnaire can be measured using statistical procedures such as
Cronbach's alpha coefficient(Cronbach, 1951), randomly splitting all the responses to a
question into two sets, totalling the scores on the two sets, and working out the correlation
between the two sets. This is known as a 'split-half test. Reliability is the proportion of
variability in a measured score that is due to variability in the true score (rather than some
kind of error). A reliability of 0.9 means 90 per cent of the variability in the observed score is
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true and 10 per cent is due to error. Reliability of 80 to 90 per cent is recommended for most
research purposes.
Validity is a subtler concept. It is about the closeness of what we believe we are measuring to
what we intended to measure. Validity in quantitative research is two broad measures of
validity - external and internal(Roberts and Priest, 2006). External validity addresses the
ability to apply with confidence the findings of the study to other people and other situations,
and ensures that the 'conditions under which the study is carried out are representative of the
situations and time to which the results are to apply'. The sample of participants drawn from
the population of interest must be representative of that population at the time of the study.
Finally, representative samples should be drawn concerning relevant variables in the study,
such as gender and age(Black, 1999). Internal validity addresses the reasons for the outcomes
of the study and helps to reduce other, often unanticipated, reasons for these outcomes. Three
approaches to assessing internal validity are content validity, criterion-related validity, and
construct validity. Criterion-related validity is a stronger form of validity, established when a
tool such as a questionnaire can be compared to other similar validated measures of the same
concept or phenomenon(Eby, 1994; Punch, 1998).
The researcher ensured external and internal validity by sharing the questionnaire with the 35
project team participants (that is 35 ( out of 56 projects at PIE) and criterion-related validity
by consulting with representative project managers to verify the criteria are comprehensive,
understandable, and incongruous with the terminologies commonly used by project teams at
PIE.
With this, the researcher performed a reliability test of the 24 dependent variables using SPSS
and the Cronbach’s Alpha was found to be 0.954, which is in the recommended range for most
research purposes (Table 1).
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Table 1: Reliability test of the 24 dependent variable items.
Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's
Alpha Based
Cronbach's Alpha on N of Items
Standardized
Items
.954 .955 24
Item-Total Statistics
Cronbach's
Dependent Variables Alpha if
Item Deleted
Ability to communicate .951
Defining the schedule .951
Accepting the proposal of the project .953
Indicating roles and responsibilities .953
Defining realistic goals and objectives .953
Team qualification .954
Defining the scope of the project .952
Meeting the deadline .952
Commitment from the team .954
Planning the project .951
Ability to communicate .952
Meeting the budget .953
Project monitoring meetings .953
Deadline variation .954
Benefit variation .953
Determining the Control points .952
Budget variation .952
Identification of goal deviations (Feedback meetings) .952
Conclusion with the planned deadline .951
Conclusion with the planned budget .952
Information as to the evolution of the project
.951
(Communication)
Conclusion with the established scope (Project proposal) .951
Changes to objectives and goals .953
Compilation of project documentation .951
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3. 10. Ethical Consideration
The principal investigator and the collaborator at PIE shared the research title, objectives, and
the aim of the collaborative research with the respondents in-person, via phone, email,
telegram, and LinkedIn. After informed consent (to fill out the questionnaire and
dissemination of the outcome through publication) was obtained, the questionnaire was shared
with either of the above-mentioned platforms. All the ethical considerations such as
anonymity and confidentiality were maintained.
The questionnaire was equipped with contact information of both the data collector and
principal investigator and responses were automatically registered on Microsoft Platform and
grouped in an email without any disclosed information to anyone out of the investigators.
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CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4. 1. Chapter introduction
In this chapter, the researcher presents data analysis and interpretation of the findings.
Descriptive statistics - illustrating means and deviations in continuous data and percentages
and frequencies in categorical data – was used as a technique. Data were analyzed and
interpreted to see the relationship between the role of team management such as the socio-
demographic characteristics, team composition, and PM leadership competency (the PM’s
role, style, communication, motivation, knowledge and learning, and conflict management)
on the critical success factors for the success of project management in terms of 4 important
groups: managerial ability, critical success factor, monitoring and control, and lessons
learning on projects completed and/or finalized 35 projects at Plan International Ethiopia.
Below is provided the socio-demographic information of the respondents, descriptive
statistics (means and deviations, frequency and percentage), correlation and regression
analysis along with their discussions.
Tables 3-6 below are provided with the demographic information, team composition, and
project managers’ leadership competency, respectively. Since the total number of respondents
used for the current analysis is 96, which is convenient to estimate the percent and easy to
present to the reader, the researchers preferred to present the sociodemographic
characteristics, team composition, and the project manager leadership competency in terms of
percent only.
Based on the data analysis, while 80.2% were males, 56.3% were between the ages of 31-40
years, 67.7% of them are married, and graduated with a first degree (31.3%) and master's
degree (68.8%). Their previous experience working in another organization was more
pronounced than their current employment year at PIE. When we analyzed their term of
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employment, while 43.8% are based on fixed conditions, 54.2% of them were project-based.
As stated above, while 35 project managers participated in the current study, the majority of
them (59.4%) were team members. With this, being married with a high academic degree,
working on fixed and project-based employment, with a majority of team members
engagement, the researcher is encouraged to deduce that respondents’ maturity, responsibility,
and respecting the team management roles and responsibilities to meet the requirements of
the project are found very high (Table 2).
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Table 2: Frequency of the sociodemographic characteristics of the team
Regarding the team composition, the team size was found with 5-10 members (49.0%) and
above 15 members with 20.8%. While 76.0% of the team types were found action teams (goal-
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directed, time-sensitive tasks necessitating members to coordinate actions in real-time and
under pressure) and 20.8% were found complex teams (working in an extremely complex
‘ecosystem’ that is constantly evolving and adapting to its environment and achieve the
seemingly impossible even for the most experienced project manager.). This finding aligns
with the mission and purpose of PIE and made them “good problem-solving abilities,” in
which the team members demonstrated a collective ability to swiftly handle emergent issues
with decreasing time intensity and performance pressure(Hansen et al., 2020). Interestingly,
the majority (58.3%) of the team identity was diversified and co-located and the remaining
18.8% and 16.7% of them were homogenous and co-located and diversified but not co-
located, respectively. Cultural diversity has a significant impact on innovation team
performance (Jones et al., 2020); more heterogeneous teams were more productive, which is
consistent with explanations emphasizing mutual team learning and intra-team bargaining
(Hamilton et al., 2003).
From the current findings, 43.8%, 30.2%, and 26.0% of PIE project teams were engaged in
the single-project team system, single-programme multiple-project systems, and multiple-
programme multiple-projects systems, respectively. Working in a single-project system might
help teams to focus on their role to achieve their specific project objectives. But multiple-
project engagement has also boosted knowledge integration and problem-solving activities,
as our analysis showed in teams' knowledge and learning (Table 2) as one of the significant
team compositions.
This might help the project team to focus In the current study, the project teams' knowledge
and learning were found to account for knowledge integration (43.6%), problem-solving
(28.6%), interteam (16.5%), and intrateam (11.3%). The knowledge integration that accounts
for 43.6% of the teams’ knowledge and learning showed a positive impact on meeting the
deadline and budget of the critical success factor group and on the identification of goal
deviation (feedback meeting) of the lessons learned group. However, the interteam knowledge
and learning integration of the team was found negatively related to defining realistic goals
and objectives, planning the project, determining the control points, budget variation, and
identification of deviations (feedback meetings). This result proves that it is not the inter-team
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knowledge and learning that impact the success of project management, but rather the
knowledge integration of the diversified and co-located teams (Table 3).
The current finding proved that the project managers’ leadership roles in PIE’s project were
coordinator (45.8%), facilitator (20.8%), and mentor (18.8%). From the current data analysis,
most of the PIE project managers’ leadership style was democratic (57.3%), coaching
(15.6%), and affiliative (12.5%). Therefore, these PM leadership styles have the most positive
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effect on team climate (flexibility, responsibility, standards, rewards, clarity, and
commitment). Regarding PMs’ communication channels, while all types of communication
methods (straight, synchronous-virtual, and asynchronous) were effectively used, email
(33.3%), telephone (23.1%), and virtual meetings (18.7%) were found the most commonly
used communication tools and communication frequency was ranged from every day with
48.5%, once a week (27.6%), once a month (9.0%) and equal weights of once in two weeks
and quarterly (7.5%). This proved the project managers at PIE followed the triple “C” that
proved the ability to communicate with teams in defining the schedule (MAG-2), defining the
scope of the project (CSF-1), meeting the deadline (CSF-2), and planning the project (CSF-
4). Interestingly, since the project managers communicate frequently, there was a negative
impact on the deadline variation (the second variable of the monitor and control group). As
long as there are frequent communication channels a PM is employed, teams would be
effective, and there shouldn’t be a project submission deadline variation.
According to the study's findings, in PIE, project managers motivated their team members by
building trust (26.8%), an open environment (23.4%), professional development (21.5%),
setting realistic goals (17.7%), and rewards (9.6%) with the least of punish (1.0%). Project
managers’ knowledge and learning were 52.2% of multiple intelligence or competencies (MI),
27.1% of intelligence quotient or competencies (IQ), and 20.8% of emotional intelligence or
competencies (EQ). This result assured the project managers at PIE have a great leadership
knowledge and learning capacity to lead project teams.
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Table 4: Frequency of the project manager leadership role and style, communication,
motivation, and conflict management of the project teams at PIE
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4. 3. Descriptive statistics
To understand the level of agreement regarding the critical success factors for the success of
project management, project team members were asked to respond to 24 critical success
factors. As a result, the researcher analyzed the descriptive statistics of the dependent
variables. There were four groups with 6 variables each. The Critical Success Factors
(variables) for the successful Project Management identified by the four drivers groups
(Managerial Ability Group, Critical Success Factors Group, Monitoring and Control Group,
and Lessons Learned Group), by order of importance, were: the managerial ability group
(MAG), the critical success factor group (CSFG), the monitor and control group (MCG), and
the lessons learned (LLG) group. With each group, there are 6 variables, viz., MAG (ability
to communicate, defining the schedule, accepting the proposal of the project, indicating roles
and responsibilities, defining realistic goals and objectives); CSFG (defining the scope of the
project, meeting the deadline, commitment from the team, planning the project, ability to
communicate, and meeting the budget); MCG (project monitoring meetings, deadline
variation, benefit variation, determining control points, budget variation, and identification of
goal deviations (feedback meetings): and LLG (conclusion with the planned deadline,
conclusion with the planned budget, information as to the evolution of the project
(communication), conclusion with the established scope (project proposal), and compilation
of project documentation). Therefore, the total number of dependent variables used for the
current study was 24. A Likert Scale was used to evaluate these variables with Very Poor (1),
Poor (2), Fair (3), Good (4), and Excellent (5).
Based on our findings, except for budget and benefit variations of the MCG, the remaining
(22) critical success factors were found with a mean value of above 4.0, i.e., they were rated
good and above on a Likert Scale (84.6% of the respondents rated 4.0 and above), which
indicated that there was successful project management at Plan International Ethiopia.
Pronouncedly, successful project management, in turn, indicated that more than 91.6% of Plan
International projects were rated successful. With this, it’s possible to deduce that the role of
team management in the 35 PIE projects was indispensable for the success of project
management, in particular, and to the success of the project, in general (Table 5).
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Table 5: The Likert Scale measurement of the critical success factors for the success of project
management (Likert Scale: >= 5, Excellent; >= 4, Good; >=3, Fair, >= 2, Poor; and >= 1,
Very Poor).
4. 4. Correlation analysis
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independent (the role of team management) and dependent variables (the critical success
factors for the success of project management). Accordingly, the analysis showed, in general,
that there were weak positive correlations between these variables (Table 6-9).
Sociodemographic characteristics
Marital status (which accounts for 67.7% married and 31.3% single) was correlated with
MAG (defining the schedule, indicating roles and responsibilities, and team qualification),
CSF (meeting the deadline and commitment from the team), MCG (benefit variation), LLG
(conclusion with the planned deadline, planned budget, information as to the evolution of the
project (communication), and compilation of project documentation. The monthly salary was
correlated with CSF (defining the scope of the project). Previous project experience was
correlated with MAG (defining the schedule), MCG (benefit variation and determining the
control points), and all LLG except conclusion with the established scope (project proposal).
Role on the team (with 59.4% team members and 36.5% of PM) was established weak positive
correlation with MAG (ability to communicate, defining the schedule, indicating roles and
responsibilities, defining realistic goals and objectives), CSF (defining the scope of the
project, planning the project, and ability to communicate), MCG (project monitoring deadline
variation, and identification of goal deviations (feedback meetings)), and LLG
(communication and conclusion with the established scope). However, age was negatively
correlated with CSF (meeting the budget), and MCG (budget variation and feedback meeting).
Besides, the form of employment was negatively correlated with MCG (deadline variation).
Team composition
Knowledge integration was positively correlated with CSF (meeting the deadline and meeting
the budget) and MCG (identification of goal deviations (feedback meetings)).
PM leadership competency
The project manager's leadership style was correlated with MAG (accepting the proposal of
the project), CSF (defining the scope of the project and ability to communicate), MCG
(deadline variation and budget variation), and LLG (conclusion with the planned budget and
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changes to objectives and goals). PMC frequency (1 week, monthly, quarterly) was correlated
with MAG (defining the schedule), CSF (defining the scope of the project and meeting the
deadline), LLG (conclusion with the established scope and changes to objectives and goals).
PMC tool (telephone, virtual meeting, social media) was correlated with MAG (accepting the
proposal of the project), CSF (defining the scope of the project, planning the project, and
ability to communicate), MCG (project monitoring meetings, determining the control point,
and feedback meetings).
PM conflict management of the project manager was positively correlated with CSF (ability
to communicate), MCG (deadline and benefit variation), and LLG (information as to the
evolution of the project (communication).
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Table 6: The correlation between the role of team management and the managerial ability
group (MAG) for the success of project management
Correlation
Managerial Ability Group
MAG-1 MAG-2 MAG-3 MAG-4 MAG-5 MAG-6
Accepting Defining
Defining Indicating roles
Ability to the realistic Team
The role of team mangement the and
communicate proposal of goals and qualification
schedule responsibilities
the project objectives
* *
Pearson .241 .201 .344**
Marital Status Sig. (2-tailed) .018 .050 .001
N 96 96 96
*
Pearson .219
Experience (Previous) Sig. (2-tailed) .032
N 96
Pearson .264** .283** .293** .273**
Role on the team Sig. (2-tailed) .009 .005 .004 .007
N 96 96 96 96
Pearson .251*
PM Leadership Style Sig. (2-tailed) .014
N 96
PMC
Pearson .239*
Sig. (2-tailed) .020
Frequency_quarterly
N 95
*
Pearson .207
PMCTool_telephone Sig. (2-tailed) .043
N 96
Pearson .224*
PM Motivation_build
Sig. (2-tailed) .029
trust
N 95
Pearson .257*
PM Motivation_reward Sig. (2-tailed) .013
N 94
PM Pearson .207*
Motivation_professional Sig. (2-tailed) .043
developmentt N 96
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
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Table 7: The correlation between the role of team management and the critical success
factor group (CSFG) for the success of project management
Correlation
Critical Success Factor Group
CSF-1 CSF-2 CSF-3 CSF-4 CSF-5 CSF-6
Defining Meeting Commitme Planning Ability to Meeting
The role of team mangement the scope the nt from the the project communicate the budget
of the deadline team
.202*
*
Marital Status Pearson .203
Sig. (2- .048 .047
N 96 96
* *
Monthly salary (ETB) Pearson .207 .226
Sig. (2- .043 .027
N 96 96
.298**
** **
Role on the team Pearson .374 .335
Sig. (2- .003 .000 .001
N 96 96 96
Team Knowledge and Pearson .212* .325
**
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Table 8: The correlation between the role of team management and the monitor and control
group (MCG) for the success of project management
Correlation
Monitor and Control Group
MCG-1 MCG-2 MCG-3 MCG-4 MCG-5 MCG-6
Identification
Project Determining of goal
Deadline Benefit Budget
The role of team mangement monitoring the Control deviations
variation variation variation
meetings points (Feedback
meetings)
Marital Status Pearson .288**
Sig. (2-tailed) .004
N 96
Experience (Present) Pearson .288**
Sig. (2-tailed) .004
N 96
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Table 9: The correlation between the role of team management and the lessons learned group
(MCG) for the success of project management
Correlation
Lessons Learned Group
LLG-1 LLG-2 LLG-3 LLG-4 LLG-5 LLG-6
Conclusion
Conclusion Conclusion Information as to with the
Changes to Compilation of
with the with the the evolution of established
The role of team mangement objectives project
planned planned the project scope
and goals documentation
deadline budget (Communication) (Project
proposal)
**
Marital Status Pearson .297 .338** .245
*
.232*
Sig. (2-tailed) .003 .001 .016 .023
N 96 96 96 96
*
Experience Pearson .205 .274** .233* .238
*
.218
*
Having pinned the variables that have a negative correlation, age with CSF (meeting the
budget), MCG (budget variation and identification of goal deviations). It’s not uncommon to
say that the young generation (in this research 31-40) are an executive leadership ability for
the success of projects. However, in the current research, those age groups are vulnerable to
budget and goal deviations. The form of team employment, which was found fixed(43.8%),
project-based (54.2%), and part-time (2.1%) was negatively correlated with deadline
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variation. It can be deduced these could be due to a lack of tight MEAL (monitoring,
evaluation, accountability, and learning) wing to make sure that all project-based employees
of PIE are accountable for post-completion of the project.
The current finding proved that the project managers’ leadership roles in PIE’s project were
coordinator (45.8%), facilitator (20.8%), mentor (18.8%), director (6.3%), and facilitator and
monitor with 4.2% each. Surprisingly, the PM leadership role was negatively correlated with
CSF (commitment from the team), MCG (determining the control points), and LLG
(conclusion with the planned deadline, budget, established scope, and compilation of the
documentation). With the above-mentioned PM leadership role of PMs at PIE, the researcher
finds it difficult to provide a scientific explanation.
4. 5. Regression Analysis
In this subsection, first, the data collected were diagnosed for tests of normality with a p-p
plot graph and Skewness and Kurtosis. Then, the strength of the relationship between selected
(based on the correlation result above) independent and dependent variables were performed
through multiple regression.
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Normality Test
To check whether the residuals are normally distributed and clustered around the straight line
or not, the normality plot graph and histogram graph were generated for the normality test.
The P-P plot (probability–probability plot or percent–percent plot or p-value plot) compares
the empirical cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the data set with a specified
theoretical cumulative factor F (-). A Q-Q plot compares the quantiles of data distribution with
the quantiles of a standardized theoretical distribution from a specified family of distribution.
The construction of a Q-Q plot does not require the location or scale parameters of F(-) to be
specified. The normality distribution and normal P-P plot points should lie reasonably straight
diagonal lines from the bottom left to the top right. The points in the P-P plot lie on a straight
diagonal line with a minimal deviation from the straight line.
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Figure 4: The Q-Q plot compared the quantiles of the data distribution with the quantiles of
a standardized theoretical distribution from a specified family of distribution.
Figure 5: The histogram of the critical success factors for the success of project management
based on the Q-Q-plot.
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Using the Skewness and Kurtosis, it is possible to test the normality. While skewness assesses
the extent to which a variable’s distribution is symmetrical, Kurtosis is a measure of whether
the distribution is too peaked which very narrow distribution with most of the responses in the
center. When both skewness and kurtosis are zero the pattern of responses is considered a
normal distribution. A general guideline for skewness is that if the number is greater than +1
or lower than –1, this is an indication of a substantially skewed distribution. For kurtosis, the
general guideline is that if the number is greater than +1, the distribution is too peaked.
Likewise, a kurtosis of less than –1 indicates a distribution that is too flat. The Skewness and
Kurtosis of the current study were found to be -0.03 ± 0.472 and -1.096 ± 0.918, respectively.
It showed a relatively normal distribution and flat.
Table 11: Skewness and Kurtosis of the critical factors for SPM
Std.
Statistic
Error
SPM Mean 4.1963 .03648
Skewness -.030 .472
Kurtosis -1.096 .918
After we identified the relationship between the independent (the role of a team) and
dependent variables (critical success factors for the success of project management), we
performed a multiple regression analysis to understand how strong (strength relationship) is
between the role of team management and success of project management.
If the F-value is statistically significant (typically p< 0.05), the model explains a significant
amount of variance in the outcome variable. R2 statistic (coefficient of determination) can be
interpreted as the percent of the variance in the outcome variable that is explained by the set
of the predictor variable. After the evaluation of the F-value and R2, it is important to evaluate
the regression beta coefficient. The beta coefficient can be positive and negative and have a t-
value and significance of the t-value associated with each. If the beta coefficient is significant,
the direction should be examined. If the beta coefficient is positive, the interpretation is that
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for every 1-unit increase in the predictor variable, the outcome variable will increase by the
beta coefficient value. The t-test assesses whether the beta-coefficient is significantly different
from zero. If the beta coefficient is not statistically significant (i.e., the t-values not
significant), the variable does not significantly predict the outcome.
Therefore, in the current research, the regression analysis is used to develop a formula based
on the beta-coefficients of each independent variable (X, 38 variables of the role of team
management) to determine the dependent variable (Y, 24 critical success factors for the
success of project management). Y(1-24) = β0+ β1X1+ β 2 X 2+ β 3 X3+ β 4X4+ β 5X5 + β
6X6 +… β 38X38 + ℇ0. Y(1-24) is the dependent variable of the success of project
management, where β0, β1, β2, β3, β4, β5, β6, and…β38 are the coefficient regression, X1,
X2, X3, X4, X5, X6, and …. X38 are the role of team management (independent variables)
and ℇ0 is the error term. A high coefficient of regression with statistical significance (p < 0.05)
indicated that the role of team management (independent variables) has made a significant
statistical contribution to the success of project management.
Out of a total of 38 independent variables, 10 of them were correlated with the managerial
ability group, 12 were correlated with the critical success factor group, 13 of them were
correlated with the monitor and control group, and 9 of them were correlated with the lessons
and learned group. Based on that the researcher followed a multiple regression analysis
between the role of team management and the success of project management. In all the
regression analyses on the four groups of the success of project management variables, the
model works with a statistically significant F-value (p < 0.05).
From the regression analysis between the 10 independent variables (marital status, previous
project experience, role on the team, PM leadership style, PM communication tool
(telephone), PM communication frequency (quarterly), PM motivation (build trust), PM
motivation (reward), PM motivation (professional development)), the role of team
management has positive impact on the success of project management (unstandardized
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coefficient of MAG-1 (β = 3.90), MAG-2 (β = 2.95), MAG-3 (β = 3.37), MAG-4 (β = 3.57),
MAG-5 (β = 4.12) , and MAG-6 (β = 3.691)) with significance of the t-value (p<0.001). The
R square for each of the six dependent variables were found to be 0.101, 0.194, 0.149, 0.389,
0.110, and 0.118, respectively.
From the regression analysis between the 12 independent variables (salary, marital status, role
on the team, team knowledge integration, PM leadership style, PM communication tool
(virtual meeting), PM communication frequency (in a week, month, and quarterly), PM
motivation (build trust and rewar, and PM conflict management), the role of team
management has positive impact on the success of project management (unstandardized
coefficient of CSF-1 (β = 2.70), CSF-2 (β = 3.46), CSF-3 (β =4.13), CSF-4 (β = 3.52), CSF-
5 (β = 2.66), and CSF-6 (β = 3.79)) with significance of the t-value (p<0.001). The R square
for each of the six dependent variables were found to be 0.263, 0.162, 0.041, 0.207, 0.257,
and 0.106, respectively.
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Table 12: Regression analysis of the managerial ability group (MAG)
Managerial Ability Group
Standardized Std.
Regression weight Unstandardized Coefficients
Coefficients Adjusted Error of Sig. F
t Sig. R R Square F
R Square the Change
Dependent Variable Independent Variable B Std. Error Beta
Estimate
(Constant) 3.901 .182 21.460 .000
Ability to
Role on the team .268 .110 .242 2.445 .016
communicate
PMMotivation_professional .317a .101 .081 .705 5.203 .007b
(MAG-1) .052 .029 .177 1.787 .077
developmentt
(Constant) 2.947 .295 10.002 .000
Defining the Marital Status .224 .082 .267 2.737 .007
schedule Experience (Previous) .139 .077 .173 1.815 .073 .229 .194 .695 .229 6.665 .000b
(MAG-2) Role on the team .231 .110 .199 2.096 .039
PMCFrequency_quarterly .140 .049 .279 2.878 .005
Accepting the (Constant) 3.371 .284 11.865 .000
proposal of the PM Leadership Style .173 .065 .264 2.655 .009
.385a .149 .120 .659 5.234 .002b
project PMCTool_telephone .104 .073 .150 1.425 .158
(MAG-3) PMMotivation_reward .062 .046 .145 1.354 .179
(Constant) 3.574 .236 15.157 .000
Indicating roles and
Marital Status .153 .073 .204 2.105 .038
responsibilties .389a .389a .389a .389a 5.396 .002b
Role on the team .243 .104 .233 2.340 .021
(MAG-4)
PMMotivation_build trust .083 .047 .177 1.779 .079
Defining realistic (Constant) 4.177 .160 26.154 .000
goals and objectives Role on the team .229 .094 .242 2.437 .017 .332a .110 .091 .601 5.769 .004b
(MAG-5) Interteam -.143 .074 -.192 -1.941 .055
Team qualification (Constant) 3.691 .194 18.996 .000 a
.344 .118 .109 .694 12.594 .001b
(MAG-6) Marital Status .272 .077 .344 3.549 .001
Note: For all the tables (a: the predictor constant or independent variable and b: dependent variable)
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Table 13: Regression analysis of the critical success factor group (CSFG)
Critical Successs Factor Group
Unstandardized Standardized Std.
Regression weight
Coefficients Coefficients Adjusted Error of Sig. F
t Sig. R R Square F
R Square the Change
Dependent Variable Independent Variable B Std. Error Beta
Estimate
(Constant) 2.697 .431 6.257 .000
Salary (ETB) .055 .079 .071 .698 .487
Role on the team .187 .106 .179 1.771 .080
Defining the scope of PM Leadership Style .203 .065 .314 3.135 .002
.513a .263 .202 .623 4.290 .000b
the project (CSF-1) PMCFrequency_quarterly .041 .049 .088 .848 .399
PMCTool_virtualmeeting .073 .037 .210 1.992 .050
PMMotivation_build trust .078 .049 .165 1.574 .119
PMMotivation_reward -.005 .050 -.011 -.094 .926
(Constant) 3.463 .241 14.380 .000
Marital Status .224 .089 .253 2.505 .014
Meeting the deadline
.403a
b
Team Knowledge integration .082 .054 .149 1.515 .133 .162 .125 .765 4.362 .003
(CSF-2)
PMCFrequency_month .078 .092 .123 .854 .395
PMCFrequency_quarterly .097 .079 .183 1.230 .222
Commitment from (Constant) 4.130 .164 25.188 .000
.203a .041 .031 .586 4.050 .047b
the team (CSF-3) Marital Status .130 .065 .203 2.012 .047
(Constant) 3.524 .192 18.311 .000
Role on the team .316 .109 .291 2.899 .005
Plnning the budget Team Knowledge integration .041 .047 .084 .882 .380
.455a .207 .163 .660 4.658 .001b
(CSF-4) PMCFrequency_1week .068 .074 .092 .926 .357
PMCTool_virtualmeeting .033 .035 .090 .918 .361
PMMotivation_build trust .090 .048 .185 1.869 .065
(Constant) 2.658 .433 6.134 .000
Salary (ETB) .055 .076 .072 .722 .472
Ability to Role on the team .276 .101 .270 2.725 .008
a b
communicate PM Leadership Style .171 .064 .269 2.677 .009 .506 .257 .205 .607 5.003 .000
(CSF-5) PMCTool_virtualmeeting .070 .035 .205 2.005 .048
PMMotivation_reward .014 .044 .035 .326 .746
PM Conflict management .069 .054 .122 1.278 .205
Meeting the budget (Constant) 3.789 .121 31.189 .000
.325a .106 .096 .749 11.104 .001b
(CSF-6) Salary (ETB) .174 .052 .325 3.332 .001
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Regression analysis of Monitor and Control Group (MCG)
From the regression analysis between the 13 independent variables (marital status, previous
project experience, team knowledge and learning (interteam and knowledge integration), role
on the team, PM leadership style, PM communication tool (virtual meeting and social media),
PM communication frequency (two weeks, monthly, and quarterly), and PM conflict
management, the role of team management has a positive impact on the success of project
management (unstandardized coefficient of MCG-1 (β = 3.89), MCG-2 (β = 2.34), MCG-3 (β
= 1.85), MCG-4 (β = 3.41), MCG-5 (β = 3.25), and MCG-6 (β = 3.64)) with the significance
of the t-value (p<0.001). The R square for each of the six dependent variables were found to
be 0.094, 0.220, 0.223, 0.200, 0.156, and 0.203, respectively.
From the regression analysis between the 9 independent variables (marital status, previous
project experience, role on the team, PM leadership style, PM communication frequency
(monthly and quarterly), PM motivation (build trust and reward, and PM conflict
management), the role of team management has positive impact on the success of project
management (LLG (β = 2.72), CSF2 (β = 2.40), CSF-3 (β =2.17), CSF-4 (β = 3.72), CSF-5 (β
= 2.64), and CSF-6 (β = 3.23)) with significance of the t-value (p<0.001). The R square for
each of the six dependent variables were found to be 0.282, 0.2,27 0.253, 0.122, 0.203, and
0.083, respectively.
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Table 14: Regression analysis of the monitoring and control group (MCG)
Monitoring and Control Group
Unstandardized Standardized Std.
Regression weight
Coefficients Coefficients Adjusted Error of Sig. F
t Sig. R R Square F
R Square the Change
Dependent Variable Independent Variable B Std. Error Beta
Estimate
Project monitoring (Constant) 3.886 .154 25.236 .000
.306a
b
meetings Role on the team .198 .096 .207 2.075 .041 .094 .074 .615 4.766 .011
(MCG-1) PMCTool_socialmedia .090 .043 .207 2.080 .040
(Constant) 2.342 .416 5.623 .000
Experience (Present) .161 .094 .170 1.706 .091
Deadline variation Role on the team .202 .124 .159 1.626 .108
.469a .220 .177 .767 5.086 .000b
(MCG-2) PM Leadership Style .143 .074 .188 1.935 .056
PMCFrequency_2week -.157 .088 -.172 -1.789 .077
PM Conflict management .135 .068 .194 1.979 .051
(Constant) 1.846 .404 4.574 .000
Benefit variaon Marital Status .239 .086 .260 2.761 .007
.473a .223 .198 .765 8.821 .000b
(MCG-3) Experience (Previous) .179 .084 .201 2.130 .036
PM Conflict management .231 .065 .327 3.551 .001
(Constant) 3.412 .238 14.355 .000
Experience (Previous) .180 .075 .233 2.404 .018
Determine the control Interteam -.154 .084 -.176 -1.842 .069
.448a
b
.200 .155 .682 4.457 .001
point (MCG-4) PMCFrequency_month .113 .081 .195 1.398 .165
PMCFrequency_quarterly .011 .069 .024 .164 .870
PMCTool_virtualmeeting .092 .038 .248 2.451 .016
(Constant) 3.248 .285 11.382 .000
Budget variation Interteam -.223 .087 -.245 -2.554 .012
.395a .156 .129 .718 5.680 .001b
(MCG-5) PM Leadership Style .170 .067 .244 2.545 .013
PMCFrequency_month .129 .055 .224 2.332 .022
(Constant) 3.642 .231 15.776 .000
Identification of goal Role on the team .195 .118 .160 1.648 .103
a
deviations Interteam -.261 .093 -.273 -2.803 .006 .451 .203 .168 .738 5.795 .000b
(MCG-6) Team Knowledge integration .093 .053 .169 1.756 .082
PMCTool_virtualmeeting .067 .039 .165 1.729 .087
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Table 15: Regression analysis of the lessons learned group (LLG)
Unstandardized Standardized Std.
Regression weight
Coefficients Coefficients Adjusted Error of Sig. F
t Sig. R R Square F
R Square the Change
Dependent Variable Independent Variable B Std. Error Beta
Estimate
(Constant) 2.723 .256 10.626 .000
Conclusion with the Marital Status .305 .074 .386 4.106 .000
planned deadline Experience (Previous) .126 .069 .168 1.822 .072 .531a .282 .249 .628 8.718 .000b
(LLG-1) PMCFrequency_quarterly .127 .045 .272 2.825 .006
PMMotivation_build trust .096 .046 .196 2.095 .039
(Constant) 2.402 .345 6.960 .000
Conclusion with the
Marital Status .238 .071 .314 3.334 .001
planned budger .476a .227 .201 .631 8.990 .000b
Experience (Previous) .158 .069 .214 2.281 .025
(LLG-2)
PM Leadership Style .170 .059 .266 2.889 .005
(Constant) 2.166 .413 5.250 .000
Marital Status .170 .082 .198 2.058 .043
Information as to the
Experience (Previous) .178 .079 .216 2.242 .028
evolution of the project a
Role on the team .115 .116 .097 .987 .326 .503 .253 .201 .705 4.864 .000b
(communication)
PMMotivation_build trust .103 .055 .194 1.883 .063
(LLG-3)
PMMotivation_reward .073 .050 .153 1.473 .144
PM Conflict management .162 .062 .247 2.602 .011
(Constant) 3.717 .184 20.248 .000
Conclusion with the
Role on the team .114 .114 .104 .997 .322
established scope
PMCFrequency_month .087 .056 .160 1.568 .121 .349a .122 .082 .702 3.051 .021b
(Project proposal)
PMMotivation_build trust .055 .054 .113 1.026 .308
(LLG-4)
PMMotivation_reward .072 .049 .163 1.465 .147
(Constant) 2.638 .377 6.995 .000
Chnages to objectives Experience (Previous) .224 .080 .268 2.796 .006
a b
and goals PM Leadership Style .152 .073 .204 2.082 .040 .451 .203 .167 .731 5.618 .000
(LLG-4) PMCFrequency_quarterly .110 .056 .204 1.979 .051
PMMotivation_reward .090 .051 .185 1.756 .083
Compilation of project (Constant) 3.226 .297 10.859 .000
a
documentation Marital Status .175 .092 .194 1.905 .060 .289 .083 .064 .811 4.227 .017b
(LLG-6) Experience (Previous) .154 .089 .176 1.732 .087
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CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, & RECOMMENDATIONS
5. 1. Chapter introduction
The current chapter summarized the main finding of the study based on achieving the
overarching aim to identify and analyzed the role of team management (now covered 38 key
variables) on the success of project management (now 24 critical success factors) taking the
case of Plan International Ethiopia (PIE) of 4 Programme and 35 Projects in the years of 2012-
2022 GC in Ethiopia. While the conclusion section answered the research questions of the
study, the researcher provided recommendations based on the objectives of the current study.
5. 2. Summary of findings
The researcher formulated and refined 38 key factors that describe the role of team
management predictors and 6 groups of 24 critical success factors for the success of project
management. Having targeted 18 projects, the researcher could able to manage to get 35
projects, which accounts for about 62.5% of the project at PIE. Therefore, the researcher
trusted the findings of the current study were found the most representative to draw any
conclusion regarding the success of project management and project success at PIE. With a
Cronbach Alpha of 0.954 reliability test of the critical success factors, the current study has
tangible outcomes to answer the research questions and recommend to the teams of the
organization, the organization (PIE), similar project-oriented NGOs, and researchers in the
project management and similar disciplines. With this, the major finding of the current study
is stated in the following paragraphs.
Having a family responsibility (being married) with a high academic degree, working on fixed
and project-based employment, with a majority of team members engaged, the current study
found that there were high maturity, responsibility, abide by the team management roles to
meet the requirements of the project. Therefore, it is encouraged to deduce there is project
management maturity at PIE.
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PIE project teams were found as action teams (76%), teams working in an extremely complex
‘ecosystem’ that constantly evolving and adapting to its environment achieve seemingly the
impossible (complex teams with 20.8%), culturally and academically diversified but co-
located engaging in single to multiple projects under the four programme. This proved that
PIE project teams are excellent in problem-solving activities and have the highest knowledge
integration.
The current finding proved that the project managers’ leadership roles in PIE’s project were
coordinator (45.8%), facilitator (20.8%), and mentor (18.8%). From the current data analysis,
most of the PIE project managers’ leadership style was democratic (57.3%), coaching
(15.6%), and affiliative (12.5%). Therefore, these PM leadership styles have the most positive
effect on team climate (flexibility, responsibility, standards, rewards, clarity, and
commitment). The PM employed the ‘triple C’ communication channels (methods, tools,
frequencies, and support communications) and motivations (professional development, build
trust, and reward), but punishment is almost nill. These findings directed towards a perfect
defining of the schedule, scope, and meeting of the deadlines (with almost none in schedule
slippage, cost overrun, and project delivery). Interestingly, project managers’ knowledge and
learning were 52.2% of multiple intelligence or competencies (MI), 27.1% of intelligence
quotient or competencies (IQ), and 20.8% of emotional intelligence or competencies (EQ).
This result assured the project managers at PIE have a great leadership knowledge and
learning capacity to lead project teams. It's common to say that a project manager is a conflict
manager though the types of managing approaches are critical. The majority of PMs at PIE
projects followed, in the order of frequency, collaboration, compromise and accommodation
that three of them are high cooperation. Consequently, the researcher encouraged to deduce
that PIE project managers are conflict managers, so do encourage a healthier competition
toward the success of project management and project success.
Had responded to 24 Critical Success Factors for the success project management (SPM), the
study participants, with exception of budget and benefit variations of the monitor and control
group (MCG) of SPM. 22 critical success factors were found with a mean value of above 4.0,
i.e., they were rated good and above on a Likert Scale (84.6% of the respondents rated 4.0 and
71 | P a g e
above), which indicated that there was successful project management at Plan International
Ethiopia. Pronouncedly, successful project management, in turn, indicated that more than
91.6% of Plan International projects were rated successful. With this, it’s possible to deduce
that the role of team management in the 35 PIE projects was indispensable for the success of
project management, in particular, and to the success of the project, in general.
Additionally, among the 38 key predictors of the role of team management, exclusively and
in part, established a weak positive relationship with moderate strength with the 24 critical
success factors (group into MAG, CSF, MCG, and LLG, by the researcher) of SPM, which,
in turn, the success of projects. Therefore, it is high time the researcher could able to answer
the research questions in the conclusion section.
5. 3. Conclusion
The current project work is designed to address the following key research questions:
(a) What are the specific sociodemographic characteristics that impact the success of
project management?
Answer: Marital status, project management experience, role on a team, and to a lesser
extent salary are played a key role on the team management that is impacted the critical
success factors for the success of project management, which, in turn, for the success of
projects.
(b) What kind of types of team compositions have a direct relationship with the critical
success factors for the success of project management?
Answer: Diversified and action teams that integrate knowledge are the most talented
ones for problem-solving activities of projects, especially for an organization like PIE
engaging in emergency issues.
(c) What are the key project manager (PM) competencies that have a significant impact on
the success of project management?
Answer: Democratic, coaching, and affiliative project manager leadership styles are
greatly impacted the team climate (responsibility, flexibility, commitment, etc).
72 | P a g e
Unfortunately, theoretically acknowledged PM leadership role, authoritative that have
most strongly positive overall impact on team climate has only 5.2%, in which it may be
the PM leadership role has negatively correlated on the success of project management
in the case of PIE. All types of PM communication channels (methods, tools, frequency,
and support communication); selectively four types of PM motivations (building trust,
open environment, professional development, and setting realistic goals); and active
conflict manager through collaboration, compromise, and accommodation approaches of
conflict management are positively impacted the critical success factors for the success
of project management. Unfortunately, the PM leadership role has negatively correlated
with a few of the critical success factors. As a result, PM leadership competency is the
main role of team management that have a great impact on the success of project
management.
(d) What are the key roles of team management for the success factors of project
management, in particular, and for the success of projects, in general?
Answer: Sociodemographic characteristics (marital status, project management
experience, and active team and PM) of the project team, team composition (diversified,
action, and teams with knowledge integration), and PM leadership competency (PM
leadership style, PM communication, PM motivation, multiple intelligence, and being
an active conflict manager) are the roles of team management on the success of project
management, and so does project success.
In conclusion, the role of team management has a significant impact on the success of project
management, which, in turn, on the success of projects for organizations engaged from a single
to multiple project systems under different programme platforms.
5. 4. Recommendation
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ANNEXE
Title of the Research project: The Role of Team Management on the Success of Project
Management: The Case of Plan International Ethiopia.
Objective: The objective of this study is to identify and analyze the role of team management
in the success of project management taking the case of Plan International Ethiopia (PIE)
2012-2024 programs focusing on 56 Projects.
Procedures: If you are willing to participate in the study, we will provide a consent form to
sign on it and return to the data collector. Then, the data collector gives you a questionnaire
to answer questions such as socio-demographic data and information regarding your project
team.
Possible Benefit: There is no incentive to be given to you as being participated in the study.
But, we believe PIE will be benefited from being an active collaborator and seeing the status
of the project teams in every program. Besides, the result of the study will benefit other NGOs,
projectized organizations, in particular, and the community, in general.
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Confidentiality: Your privacy and confidentiality are highly respected. There is no sensitive
issue that you will be asked and any information obtained from you will be kept confidential.
The data will be used only for the research. Any information that identifies you will not be
shared with anyone outside the study team and it will be accessible only to the issued
personnel involved in the study. The findings of the study will be general for the study area
and will not reflect anything particular to the individual. The questionnaire will be coded to
exclude your name.
Participation and withdrawal: Participation is based on voluntary and you have the right to
withdraw at any time. You can ask any questions regarding the study.
Contact information
If you have any questions about the study, you can contact the principal investigators for
further information.
I have been informed that the objective of the study is the role of team management on the
success of project management: The Case of Plan International Ethiopia. The results of the
study will have an important to provide primary data to the research community and
recommendations to the stakeholders of other NGOs, private and government projectized
organizations, and access information to the public. I have also been informed about the
confidentiality of this study. I have been requested to participate in the study to get my
willingness to provide the required data that includes my biodata by filling out the
questionnaire. Therefore, I understood the aim of the researchers' project work and was
voluntary to provide the above-mentioned information. I am proud to be part of the research
by contributing my part to the community.
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Annex III: Questionnaire (English Version)
Instruction: Please choose and encircle for close-ended questions and fill the spaces provided
for open-ended questions.
1) Socio-demographic data
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7 Experience in the current 1) Less than 2
project (Years) 2) 2-5
3) 6-10
4) Above 10
8 Previous Project work 1) Less than 2
experience (Years) 2) 2-5
3) 6-10
4) Above 10
9 Role on the team 1) Team Member
2) Project Manager
3) Programme Head
4) Programme Director
5) Project Sponsor
2) Team Composition
The researcher trust you might aware of some key terms in the following questions. In case of
unfamiliarity, the researcher respectfully shares the terminologies of the following:
Action team (Mohammed et al., 2010); that is, a team performing goal-directed, time-
sensitive tasks necessitating members to coordinate actions in real-time and under pressure.
Cheetah team: a small, elite unit, separate from the product development team, that can be
mobilized quickly to solve an unexpected problem threatening to hold up a project (Engwall
and Svensson, 2001).
Complex team: the project team of varying sizes working in an extremely complex
‘ecosystem’ that is constantly evolving and adapting to its environment. It is a cohesive unit
that can achieve the seemingly impossible even for the most experienced project manager
whilst growing ever stronger.
Fragile team: A project team that makes one change and the whole entity suffers, requiring
an extended period in which to recover (Jordan, 2016).
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S.No. Question Answer
1 Team size 1) Below 4
2) 5-10
3) 11-15
4) Above 15
2 Team type 1) Action
2) Cheetah
3) Complex
4) Fragile
3 Team identity 1) Homogenous and co-located
2) Homogenous and not co-located
3) Diversified and co-located
4) Diversified and not co-located
4 Team Climate 1) Collaboration
2) Cooperation
3) Coordination
4) Collective Thinking
5) Role Allocation
6) Cohesion
5 Team System 1) Single-Project system
2) Single Programme, Multiple Project System
3) Multiple Programme, MultipleProject
6 Team knowledge and 1) Intrateam
learning 2) Interteam
3) Knowledge integration
4) Problem-solving
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3) Project Manager Leadership role and style (BA/BSc/MD = bachelor degree;
MA/MSc/MPH = Master degree; PhD = Doctor of philosophy; and PM = Project
manager)
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4) Reward
5) Professional development
6) Punish
6 PM Knowledge and Learning 1) IQ (Intelligence quotient)
2) EQ (Emotional intelligence)
3) MI (Multiple Intelligence)
7 PM Conflict management 1) Avoidance (low assertive, low cooperative)
2) Accommodation (low assertive, high
cooperative)
3) Competition (high assertive, low
cooperative)
4) Compromise (moderately assertive and
cooperative)
5) Collaboration (high assertive, high
cooperative)
For the current and previously completed PIE projects, please indicate your level of agreement
with the following statements relating to the performance of the overall project by putting a
tick (√) in the number that describes best how you feel about the statement.
1. Very Poor
2. Poor
3. Fair
4. Good
5. Excellent
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Drivers Success Factors in Project Management
Group Variable description 1 2 3 4 5
Managerial Ability to communicate
Ability Defining the schedule
Group Accepting the proposal of the
project
Indicating roles and responsibilities
Defining realistic goals and
objectives
Team qualification
Critical Defining the scope of the project
Success Meeting the deadline
Factors Commitment from the team
Group Planning the project
Ability to communicate
Meeting the budget
Monitoring Project Monitoring meetings
and Control Deadline variation (Planned vs.
Group actual deadline variation)
Benefit variation (Planned vs.
actual benefit variation)
Determining the Control points
Budget variation (Planned vs.
Actual budget variation)
Identification of goal deviations
(Feedback meetings)
Lessons Conclusion with the planned
Learned deadline
Group Conclusion with the planned
budget
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Information as to the evolution of
the project (Communication)
Conclusion with the established
scope (Project proposal)
Changes to objectives and goals
Compilation of project
documentation.
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